Since 1993, Itasca County Habitat for Humanity has built 32 new homes and served 40 families which include 47 adults and 86 children. In the spring of 2011, we had our first Mortgage Burning Celebration. One our first homeowners paid off her mortgage without refinancing. In the fall of 2011 we had another partner family member pay off her mortgage!
Homeowners move far less frequently than renters, and hence are embedded into the same neighborhood and community for a longer period. According to a 2010 report from the National Association of Realtors 5.2 percent of owner-occupied residents moved from 2008 to 2009, nearly 30 percent of renters changed residential location. Our families are more likely to become active in their communities because they are now stakeholders. The children will be more stable in their schools due to not having to transfer from one school to the next and the school districts will have a more stable enrollment. In addition, the study concludes that mover rate among those living below the poverty level was almost twice as high as those living above the poverty line. By contrast, the mover rate for married-couple family households was only half the rate compared with households living in other arrangements.
A 1997 study by Green and White found that homeowners have a significant effect on their children’s success. The decision to stay in school by teenage students is higher for those raised by home-owning parents compared to those in renter households. Furthermore, daughters of homeowners have a much lower incidence of teenage pregnancy.
According to the Independent Sector, an organization which promotes volunteerism and non-profit activity, estimates the value of a volunteer hour in 2009 for the state of Minnesota to be $20.90. If we were to use this figure, Itasca County Habitat for Humanity’s value to community is $84,290.
All homes being built by ICHFH are built using the Minnesota Green Communities criteria and are Energy Star certified. A typical Habitat home in Itasca County is approximately 1100 square feet which results in nearly 50% less space, cost, and resources consumed than today’s typical new residential construction. The total air leakage area in an ICHFH home is equivalent to a small hole just over 3 inches in diameter. Homeowners are spending just over $3.50 per day in heating costs during the winter heating season (November through March) which results in a total winter heating cost savings of $285 over the average Minnesota homeowner and are constructed to use nearly 25% less energy than a standard new home.
In FY 2011, we had a budget of $516,000. Of that figure, all but 6% or $31,000 was spent locally in Itasca County. The multiplier effect indicates the total economic impact of ICHFH is $3.3 million for FY 2011.
Since the first home built in 1993, ICHFH homeowners have paid $145,910 in property taxes and of that amount, $22,399 will paid by homeowners in 2011.
The ReStore is another asset to the community in that it diverts thousands of pounds of waste from the local landfills. All the materials sold in the ReStore are donated items and are sold at substantially reduced prices thus allowing for cost-effective repairs for the existing housing stock in Itasca County. Since opening in 2007, the ReStore has diverted over 1.9 million pounds of materials from the county landfills and over 327,000 pounds so far this year.
GLOBAL IMPACT
Habitat for Humanity is a global organization that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the face of the earth. The mechanism that allows and mandates all U.S. affiliates to participate globally while they provide affordable housing locally is the Tithe program.
Since 1992, Itasca County Habitat for Humanity has tithed $77,476 to Mexico which means an additional 27 families are now living in safe, decent, affordable homes.
