Cost of Home
Editorial
Please note, information about the Habitat for Humanity International Cost of Home campaign launch is under embargo until Wednesday, June 12.
Fathers, mothers, and grandparents across our nation are struggling to provide safety and stability for their families through affordable homeownership. Achieving an affordable home – defined as paying no more than 30% of their income on rent or a mortgage – is out of reach for millions. This imbalance forces families to make impossible choices between a safe home, nutritious food, or health care.
And Gaston County is no exception. According to the North Carolina Housing Coalition, 27% of households in Gaston County are paying more than 30% of their income for housing. Due to the cost burden faced by families in this situation, 4,724 faced an eviction notice and 251 faced foreclosure.
On Wednesday, June 12, Habitat for Humanity of Gaston County will join with Habitat for Humanity International and Habitat affiliates across the country to launch a new national advocacy campaign aimed at improving home affordability for 10 million people in the U.S. over the next five years.
Marking significant growth in Habitat’s commitment to ensuring that everyone has a safe and decent place to call home, the Cost of Home campaign seeks to identify and improve policies and systems through coordinated advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal levels.
The Cost of Home campaign focuses on improving housing affordability across the housing continuum in four specific policy areas: increasing supply and preservation of affordable homes, equitably increasing access to credit, optimizing land use for affordable homes, and ensuring access to and development of communities of opportunity.
The benefits of a Habitat home are numerous. Homeownership provides stability to families that benefits our entire community. Families living in Habitat homes report increased stability in employment and their overall financial situation. Living in a stable home environment allows children to achieve increased learning in math and reading, while reducing behavioral incidents.
Habitat for Humanity of Gaston County is taking steps to address this problem locally. Building on a foundation of success for the past 30 years, the Board of Directors is increasing our capacity to serve individuals who qualify for our homeownership program. Our future plans include increasing the number of new construction houses, rehabilitation projects, and critical home repairs.
We are committed to helping families achieve homeownership by building homes, building community, and building hope. We invite you to join us on this journey as we strive to build a great Gaston County through serving an increased number of partner families.
More details about Habitat’s Cost of Home policy platform and campaign activation are available at habitat.org/costofhome.
For more information on Habitat for Humanity of Gaston County, please contact Kay Peninger at 704-874-0499 or kay@habitatgaston.org.