Achieving stability and security through homeownership

When Jennifer became pregnant, she and her partner, Felix, lived in an unsafe neighborhood in an apartment that had mold issues and rats. Finding a safe and affordable home in the area during that time, in the early days of the COVID pandemic, was impossible. The couple decided to move in with Jennifer’s parents to protect the health of their baby. “You cannot afford to work here and afford to live here because the cost of living is so much higher than what you make at a full-time job,” Jennifer says. “You and your partner have to work two or three jobs just to make enough to pay for a mortgage.”

Though Olivia had found a decent income-based apartment for her family, rent increases made it hard for her to save for a home of her own. “I’d been trying to do overtime to make a little bit more money, but when I made more, my rent went up,” says Olivia, who is a care provider at a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Now that they have homes where they can pay affordable mortgages, both Jennifer and Olivia are excited about the bright future ahead. Wendy Cullinan, Habitat Cape Cod president and CEO, says having fully electric homes with solar panels installed will play a big part in keeping costs affordable for the new homeowners.

“Building safe, affordable and sustainable homes benefits families and our environment,” Wendy says. “We were able to install solar panels on Jennifer and Olivia’s homes with the support of a BuildBetter with Whirlpool grant. Those solar panels will help lower their monthly utility costs and create a pathway for even greater financial security.”

“To not have to worry about having so many different house-related bills because you have solar panels on your roof taking care of everything. I mean that’s amazing. It’s a huge stress relief,” Jennifer says.

The BuildBetter with Whirlpool initiative builds upon Habitat’s current efforts to help homeowners mitigate the impacts of climate change with more energy-efficient and disaster-resilient homes. Grants like the one that funded Jennifer and Olivia’s solar panels are intended to help promote safe and sustainable building across the U.S.

A world of new opportunities

Now that they have the strong foundation of affordable homeownership, Olivia and Jennifer are excited about working on their next goals. Olivia is planning to focus on advancing her career. “Now that I have the stability, I can take more classes and get a degree. I would love to do something in the behavioral health field,” she says.

Jennifer is looking forward to completing her schooling, too. “I’ve wanted to go back and finish my management degree at school,” she says. “I think that I can actually do that because now I can afford to pay for my last few classes to get my degree. That’s huge because I’ve wanted it forever.”

3. Share.

Everyone has a relationship with housing, and it can be impactful to share why housing is important to you.

Share your housing story (what housing has meant to you or why you advocate for affordable housing) with friends, neighbors and local officials and invite them to share their story in return.

4. Join.

Find local organizations, like Habitat, already advocating for adequate, affordable housing in your community. Existing housing groups and coalitions can facilitate events, help shape policy priorities and connect you with community members with similar interests.

5. Mobilize.

Encourage your friends, family and neighbors to join in your efforts for adequate, affordable housing. More housing advocates taking action means more and better housing policies.

6. Celebrate and reflect.

Meaningful change can often take time. Remember to pace yourself and cherish every win — big or small — along the way. If wins are slow to come, reflect on the relationships you’ve built through advocacy within your community and know that every action you take is a step in the right direction.

Habitat’s advocacy in action

Habitat has seen just how powerful housing advocates are in shaping their communities.

For example, Habitat Wake County in North Carolina leads an advocacy ambassador program that equips residents with tools and resources to be effective changemakers. Advocacy ambassadors attend trainings to prepare for a local lobby day where Habitat volunteers raise housing-related concerns with elected officials.

With support from local advocates, Habitat Wake’s efforts have led to many notable wins, including helping to secure $80 million for an affordable housing bond in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In South America, Habitat Brazil became a key member of the global Zero Evictions Campaign. With Habitat’s help, residents brought awareness to the roughly half a million Brazilians facing the threat of eviction through public demonstrations, petitions, handwritten letters and media coverage.

The residents’ advocacy work influenced their Supreme Court to place nationwide moratoriums on evictions, which Habitat Brazil estimates prevented 160,000 forced evictions.