Habitat volunteers and homeowners dedicate houses in Valdosta, Ga.

Simple House, BIG IMPACT
Decent, affordable housing can be a key stepping stone to overcoming poverty.

On a worldwide scale, the needs of humanity are broad: clean water, food, security, health care, education, employment. In the midst of these pressing, legitimate needs, why has Habitat for Humanity chosen to focus on housing, and specifically on homeownership?

In 2001, the United Nations Center for Human Settlements estimated that 1.1 billion people in urban areas lack adequate shelter. This need for housing can slow or negate progress in other areas, thus compromising a family's quality of life. With solid housing and added stability, more than 175,000 Habitat homeowner families throughout the world have one less thing to worry about, having renewed hope through decent shelter and homeownership.

In the following pages, Nicolas P. Retsinas, Habitat for Humanity International board member and director for the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, shares his commentary on the values of homeownership. In subsequent pages, Habitat homeowner profiles help draw a face on much of the information Retsinas delivers.