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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What
is Habitat for Humanity?
Habitat
for Humanity is an ecumenical, Christian housing
ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing
from the world and to make decent shelter a
matter of conscience and action. It is an
international organization, but there is a local
affiliate founded here in the Copper Country in
1994.
How
did Habitat come to the Copper Country?
Habitat
is a grass-roots organization. "Grass-roots"
means that the initiative to develop an
affiliate came from people in the community and
wasn't imposed on the area. The greater the
interest in our community in keeping Habitat
going, the greater the success of our affiliate.
How
does Copper Country Habitat for Humanity
select new homeowners?
A Homeowner Selection committee, made up of
local volunteers, uses three criteria to select
people to be Habitat homeowners:
• need for adequate shelter
• ability to pay the mortgage
• willingness to partner with Habitat
We select families in a manner that complies
with all federal laws prohibiting
discrimination. Once selected, families work in
“partnership" with Habitat.
To download an application,
click here.
To request more information or that an
application be mailed to you, click here.
How
do families pay for their homes?
Habitat
for Humanity assists families by providing a
hand up - not a handout. A selected family
purchases its Habitat house at cost: no interest
is charged them and no money is made by Habitat.
In addition, families must put in “sweat
equity,” which is explained in the next question
What
is sweat equity?
Sweat
equity is the required time a homeowner has to
work with the local Habitat affiliate as a part
of payment for their home. This affiliate
requires each adult to spend 200 hours working
on their homes or other Habitat-related or
community service projects. This work can
include helping to build the house, assisting in
the Habitat office, doing fundraising, helping
to build the home of someone else in the
community, etc.
Do
you have to know how to do construction in
order to volunteer with Habitat?
No!
Construction teams consist of those skilled in
construction and those who have never picked up
a hammer before. There are also plenty of
non-construction possibilities for volunteering
with Habitat. Copper Country Habitat for
Humanity needs all kinds of help, from
fundraising to publicity to volunteer
recruitment.
How
does Copper Country Habitat for Humanity help
build community while building houses?
Copper
Country Habitat for Humanity brings together
different people from the community to work for
the common cause of eliminating poverty housing.
By working together through all the tasks
necessary for building a home, Habitat
volunteers learn the richness of this community
and they also learn how much the community is
capable of achieving when it comes together for
a common cause.
Does
the money you donate go directly to Copper
Country Habitat for Humanity?
If you
designate “local use” with your donation, 100%
of your donation will be used in the Copper
Country. Otherwise, 90% of a donation is
credited locally while the remaining 10% is used
to support affiliates in developing countries.
CCHFH tithes to help build houses in Guatemala.
To date, four houses have been built with the
aid of local tithing funds.
How
is Copper Country Habitat for Humanity funded?
Copper
Country Habitat for Humanity funds the houses it
builds primarily through local fundraising.
Habitat also works in partnership with
government agencies and may accept government
funds to obtain land or houses for
rehabilitation, to prepare the building site and
provide utilities, and for administrative
expenses. Habitat does not accept government
funds for the actual construction of homes, and
any government funds it does use must not have
any strings attached that would limit Habitat's
ability to proclaim its Christian witness. |
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