San Benito County’s Habitat for Humanity celebrated its official
affiliation with Habitat International and the San Benito County
Chamber of Commerce yesterday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony,
symbolizing the beginning of its work in Hollister.
Hollister – San Benito County’s Habitat for Humanity celebrated its official affiliation with Habitat International and the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce yesterday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, symbolizing the beginning of its work in Hollister.
“There is a significant need for this sort of work in our county,” said George Lewis, president of Habitat for Humanity’s local chapter. “A major portion of this community is living at or below the poverty line. We have a number of homeless in the city, too, although you may not see them.”
Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 to take on the problem of affordable housing. Instead of giving away houses, the organization forms a partnership with those who can donate materials and skills with a family in need of a home.
The houses are sold to the family at cost, and the family pays back the no-interest mortgage over a period of approximately 20 years. The money from the mortgage, in turn, supports other housing projects.
Over the years Habitat for Humanity expanded into an international organization. Habitat International’s website claims that the organization has built 175,00 homes, sheltering over 900,000 people in 3,000 communities – soon to be 3,001, with the inclusion of San Benito County.
“We have this kind of encompassing philosophy,” said Lori Shackleton, one of Habitat San Benito County’s 12 board of directors. “We’re not offering a hand-out, we’re offering a hand up.”
A local Habitat chapter has been in the works for over a year and a half, said Lewis, and was granted official affiliation with Habitat International on September first. In order to be officially recognized as an affiliate, the local board had to provide proof of criteria to select families and projects, methods to collect money, and an overall business plan.
The ribbon-cutting was held at an empty lot on Line Street, although no actual construction is planned there. Currently, Habitat is looking for its first project.
“We probably won’t be able to actually build a new house for a while, because of the (sewer) moratorium,” said Lewis. “What our first project may well be instead is a rehab project, taking an existing home and improving it so that it is inhabitable.”
In order to be eligible for such a project, Lewis said, interested parties must own the property and not rent it, and be considered a low-income household. Habitat for Humanity considers a family of four being supported on $35,000 a year or less a low-income family.
Lewis likened such a rehab project to a “house makeover” – improvements might include reroofing the house, ensuring that the electrical wiring in the house is safe, and adding other safety features.
“Materials for a project like that cost around $15-25,000,” said Lewis. “So the family would expected to pay that back over time, and participate at a level proportional to the work involved.”
In comparison, a new Habitat home in California would cost about $100,000, plus about 500 hours in “sweat equity” – time spent physically working on the house.
“Some people may be disabled,” said Shackleton. “Even if they can’t work with a hammer and nails, they can do mail-outs or make phone calls. It’s a lot of hard work.”
“We don’t factor in the cost of labor, only materials,” said Lewis. “If we included the actual price of the land, no one (low-income family) would be able to afford one our homes, and that’s not the point. Even if someone gives you everything you need, the permit fee is still anywhere from $25-30,000, and depending on the size of the house, traffic impact fees can cost $15,000.”
Habitat for Humanity’s local chapter is holding its first big fundraiser October 22nd, a Harvest Ride and benefit dinner, and will have a booth at the County Fair to recruit interested community members.
“What we desperately need is someone outside of the city limits willing to donate land, so we can build a new home,” said Shackleton. “But it isn’t just about money or writing a check. The most important thing we can have is volunteers who donate their time.”
Those interested in volunteering or donating can call Habitat for Humanity at 635-9904.
