On behalf of Habitat for Humanity, thank you for being a part of the AEG Build Day! Because of your dedication and support, we are able to successfully progress towards our goal of eliminating poverty housing throughout the world – starting in our own backyard of Los Angeles. The houses that we will build together will be a symbol of hope in the community and a tangible sign that the differences which divide us racially, economically and culturally can be overcome when people choose to work together.
Our Imperial Highway development will be home to ten deserving Habitat partner families. It utilizes a shared wall design to maximize the number of homes on the lot, and will include resident parking and a play area for children. We are proud to say that this site will be the city of Lynwood’s first LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) housing development.
Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit, financed with affordable, no-interest loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments are used to build even more Habitat houses. Habitat for Humanity provides a hand-up, not a hand-out. In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, partner families invest hundreds of hours of their own labor – called sweat equity -- into building their Habitat house and the houses of others.
Habitat homeowner families are selected through an application process that evaluates: Level of need (through home visits and interviews that use a non-bias point system) Low Income earning 30%-80% of area median income (AMI) Willingness to partner with Habitat by spending 500 hours of “sweat equity” building their home Ability to pay back a zero-interest mortgage loan Families must be coping with substandard living conditions that relate to:
o Overcrowding
o Dangerous living conditions (such as gang violence)
o Lack of adequate heating, water, electricity, or bathroom facilities
o Health-related issues
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. Habitat seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need. Habitat has built more than 300,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.5 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, simple, decent, affordable shelter.
