ORS Impact, an external evaluation firm, examined enabling factors to neighborhood change, racial equity and inclusion, and how Habitat’s neighborhood revitalization efforts contributed to quality-of-life improvements across 10 neighborhoods.
Habitat affiliates are successfully reshaping discriminatory land and zoning policies to create more affordable homes and more equitable opportunities in their communities. Watch our video to learn how Habitat works on housing advocacy every day to drive equity.
Financial support and housing programs from federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture can have a major impact on the number of families Habitat affiliates can partner with. For North St. Louis County Habitat in rural Minnesota, USDA funding has helped the affiliate increase their affordable homebuilding.
More than half of renters in St. Louis County, Minnesota, spend 30% or more of their income on rent — and a quarter spend 50% or more of their income on rent. The county’s old housing stock continues to age, and affordable housing development lags far behind the demand, making it difficult for aspiring homebuyers to achieve homeownership.
Since its founding in 1995, North St. Louis County Habitat for Humanity has partnered with families to build affordable homes. However, with the need for affordable housing reaching such critical levels, the affiliate began searching for ways to grow its homebuilding efforts and help more families secure affordable homeownership opportunities.
In 2011, North St. Louis County Habitat began partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture after learning of the agency’s rural housing programs. Habitat affiliates working in rural communities across the U.S. have worked closely with the USDA to scale affordable homeownership opportunities through federal funding mechanisms like the 502 Direct Loan Program.
Through the 502 Direct Loan Program, the USDA repays developers, including Habitat, for the cost of building a home. “As soon as the house is ready to close, the USDA pays the full value of the loan upfront so that Habitat can then use those funds to build a home alongside another family,” says Nathan Thompson, North St. Louis County Habitat executive director.
North St. Louis County Habitat identifies families who might qualify for the USDA loan out of their own pool of applicants and helps prospective homebuyers complete the USDA application. Then, unlike our traditional model where Habitat serves as the mortgage lender, homeowners participating in the 502 Direct Loan Program make their monthly mortgage payments to USDA.
“When we have a family partnering with us and USDA, it’s essentially a full-house sponsorship. Without USDA, we wouldn’t be able to build as much,” Nathan says. “It increases our capacity.”
Financial support from federal agencies like USDA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development can have a major impact on the number of families Habitat affiliates can partner with. That’s why Habitat for Humanity International rallies affiliates, partners, volunteers and homeowners to shape and champion policies that advance affordable housing solutions. With increased federal funding, entry-level homeowners like Teelyn can access affordable homeownership.
Teelyn heard about North St. Louis County Habitat from friends and applied for the affiliate’s homeownership program. Upon reviewing her application, Marnie Maki, North St. Louis County Habitat’s family service manager, found that Teelyn’s credit score and annual income as a career counselor likely qualified her for the USDA 502 loan.
Marnie and Teelyn partnered closely with USDA to complete her application, and soon her loan was approved. Moving into her Habitat home meant more space for Teelyn and her 2-year-old son Isaiah, who were living in Teelyn’s mom’s house in Hibbing, Minnesota. Teelyn loved having her mom around to help raise Isaiah, but the family quickly began to outgrow the two-bedroom home. Teelyn gave her room to Isaiah and slept on a mattress in the living room.
Teelyn was joined by community volunteers as she built her three-bedroom North St. Louis County Habitat home in Buhl, Minnesota, just 15 minutes from her mom’s house.
“The best part is having our own space. At my mom’s, it was so crowded. It feels like a breath of fresh air being here,” Teelyn says.
To date, eight families in North St. Louis County Habitat’s homeownership program have originated their mortgage through USDA’s 502 Direct Loan Program. North St. Louis County Habitat still serves families through its traditional Habitat mortgage, but the partnership with USDA has directly increased the affiliate’s capacity to reach even more families like Teelyn’s.
“The number of families that are cost-burdened in our area is growing. The funding we receive from our federal sources is super valuable.”— Nathan Thompson, North St. Louis County Habitat executive director
Federal funding must increase to meet the country’s tremendous housing supply challenges, especially for entry-level homeownership. As vocal and leading housing advocates, Habitat continues to call on the U.S. Congress to prioritize policies that advance affordable homeownership opportunities and increase funding for housing programs like USDA’s 502 Direct. With support from USDA, HUD and other federal agencies, we can move closer to fulfilling our vision of a world where everyone has a decent, affordable place to live.
1. In each of the last two years, North St. Louis County Habitat has received US$60,000 of federal funding earmarked for land acquisition through the government’s Community Development Block Grant. Nathan says nearly all the land the affiliate uses to build homes has been acquired using block grant funding.
2. Every prospective North St. Louis County Habitat homeowner attends a first-time homebuyer course led by the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency, a local organization that distributes federal funding throughout the community. Upon finishing the course and signing a purchasing agreement with the affiliate, the homebuyer receives US$6,000 to offset closing costs. Teelyn says the funds “took all the burden off” of the expensive closing costs.
Learn how you can join Habitat to advocate for housing policies and funding to help more families have access to a stable, affordable place to call home.
Leading experts, international organizations, over 100 governments and more gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum’s 2024 annual meeting this January. Habitat CEO Jonathan Reckford attended to give affordable housing a seat at the table.
Photo credit — Copyright: World Economic Forum/Sikarin Fon Thanachaiary
The World Economic Forum partners with global leaders to catalyze significant positive change — unleashing initiatives, pioneering industry advancements, furthering economic innovations, and fostering projects and collaborations, all working toward improving the state of the world.
Habitat CEO Jonathan Reckford joined other leading experts during the annual meeting to give affordable housing a seat at the table.
As the climate crisis picks up pace, those without access to adequate, safe and sustainable housing are most at risk.
In an article for WEF, Reckford suggests three key strategies to help nations progress toward their climate goals and ensure those most vulnerable are put first:
From solar home systems to green roofs and rainwater harvesting, sustainable, nature-based solutions can help conserve natural resources and strengthen climate adaptation efforts. When replicated at scale, these green initiatives reduce climate risks and protect the livelihoods of millions of households worldwide.
Alongside other members of WEF’s Network of Global Future Councils, Reckford shared his enthusiasm for the opportunities in the affordable housing sector in 2024.
“Government leaders understand the critical relationship between housing and health, education and economic stability — not just for individuals but for strong communities,” Reckford writes. “And all levels of government are partnering with the private sector to help supply catch up with demand, especially for low- and moderate-income homebuyers and renters, which the market struggles the most to serve.”
Reckford also hosted and moderated a panel of multi-sector experts to talk about efforts to counteract Not In My Backyard, or NIMBY, which describes the actions that have halted development of projects from energy to housing to high speed rail across the globe.
Reckford says that many Americans agree that affordable housing is a good thing “as long as it’s not anywhere near where I live.”
“As a result, there is a massive shortage — both quantitatively and qualitatively — of housing that’s affordable, and we really have a crisis,” Reckford says.
Yes In My backyard, or YIMBY, is the counter-movement looking to support and scale place-based innovation.
“We’re going to talk about infrastructure across energy and across the built environment and what it takes to bring together the forces to make projects happen and make them happen faster,” Reckford says.
Habitat’s CEO Jonathan Reckford shares his outlook alongside other experts from the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Future Councils: “I take heart in knowing that new solutions are taking hold every day.”
