Impact

Decent, affordable shelter provides families with a place to gather and grow. Even more, by working with Habitat to achieve affordable homeownership, families can transform their lives.

Affordable homeownership helps create the conditions that free families from stress and fear, helping build stability and confidence. Studies show that strong and stable households are foundational to child development and growth. When a home fosters — instead of hinders — health and safety, families can flourish. Owning an affordable home also allows homeowners to lift up their entire family by saving for their futures and investing in educational opportunities — bolstering job opportunities and long-term career growth.

Data and surveys on our impact

Surveys of Habitat homeowners and their families show better financial health, parents who are more confident about meeting their family’s needs, and even improved grades for their children since purchasing a Habitat home:

• 65% reported better physical health in the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership impact survey.
• 80% of children’s grades improved and 41% of adults completed an educational or job training program, Chatham Habitat for Humanity in Pittsboro found in a 2021 homeownership impact survey.
• 94% of homeowners now feel safe in their homes and 98% said that owning a home improved how they felt about themselves, according to Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley’s 2021 social impact study.
• 57% of families have more savings and 48% of families feel more connected to the community, a survey of Habitat for Humanity Greater Sacramento’s first 100 families found.

Read about our impact

• Through a research series highlighted below, Habitat is bringing to light evidence on the barriers to affordable housing and the incredible impact that removing these barriers has on individuals and families in the U.S. and around the globe.
• You can catch a glimpse of Habitat’s impact on our stories page or our online collection of Habitat magazine issues, where homeowners and volunteers share how Habitat’s vision of decent and affordable housing for all has changed their lives.

Wherever we work, we witness tangible evidence that decent, affordable shelter creates long-lasting and life-changing impact on families and communities.