Midland County Habitat decided to build multifamily units after conducting a housing need and market assessment study of the area with community partners. “The data told us we were largely a single-family home community and that there needed to be a diversity of housing options moving forward,” says Jennifer Chappel, Midland County Habitat president and CEO.

Lending a helping hand

“Neighbors can look out for each other, and we know each other here,” Brenda says of her new community.

Knowing her fellow Habitat homeowners came in handy when Brenda’s smoke alarm began beeping one night. She called her neighbor, Heidi, who came over to help her switch out the batteries.

Like Brenda, Heidi was looking for a safer environment to call home. Exposure to mold in a previous residence had wreaked havoc on her health. “I had a lot of health issues going on, but mold was a pretty big issue in that,” Heidi says.

During her build, Heidi was “emotionally overwhelmed” by the support of friends and family who volunteered to work alongside her and help make her dream of having a healthy home come true. “They’re all just happy that I’m in a healthy spot because they watched me go through such a tough time,” she says. “Now I’m somewhere where I can finally start to have a normal life.”

Building a more sustainable future

Brenda and Heidi’s homes were built with support from DuPont. The company provided funding and donated product to help construct the multifamily community, and its employees volunteered to help the families build their homes. DuPont staff members also identified and addressed air sealing and insulation opportunities in the homes’ designs, helping to make them more efficient. With DuPont’s help, Midland County Habitat’s multifamily homes achieved a high efficiency Energy Star HERS® rating. The HERS® Index is a nationally recognized system for evaluating a home’s energy performance in the U.S. 

“The donated product is really what makes the energy efficiencies of these homes,” Jennifer says. “We know that the largest bill a homeowner will pay is their mortgage payment. And typically, your second largest bill is your utilities. These homes have an affordable mortgage, so the cost of housing is controlled. But energy use and consumption are lowered ensuring further savings. On average, these homeowners are paying about US$100 a month on energy bills year-round.” 

“This home is much more energy efficient,” says Brenda, who has seen an improvement in her utility costs now that she’s moved into her Habitat home. 

“At DuPont, we are committed to working with local communities like Midland to help ensure that everyone has access to energy-efficient and resilient homes,” says Tim Lacey, DuPont’s global vice president and general manager who also serves as a member of Midland County Habitat’s construction and repair and ad hoc flood recovery committees. “We’re proud to work with Habitat to help foster more affordable and sustainable housing solutions that will improve the lives of families, our communities and our world.”  

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.

Two other ways federal funding supports North St. Louis County Habitat’s work:

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. 

Housing and climate change

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:

1. Recognize adequate housing as a priority in climate change action.
2. Prioritize the most vulnerable by incrementally adapting climate-resilient homes.
3. Invest in upgrading and greening informal settlements.

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.

Optimism for housing solutions in 2024

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.”

Yes In My Backyard

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.