Building Today to House a Better Tomorrow

Running head: BUILDING TODAY TO HOUSE A BETTER TOMORROW 1

Building Today to House a Better Tomorrow

Stephen

Grantham University

BUILDING TODAY TO HOUSE A BETTER TOMORROW 2

Building Today to House a Better Tomorrow

Habitat for Humanity is a large nonprofit organization that is known worldwide. They are a

Christian based organization that are focused on serving communities, no matter what religion

they favor. Habitat gives community members the opportunity to help their fellow neighbor in

ways they couldn’t solely do themselves. By providing that opportunity Habitat also helps bring

people closer together. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville provides a much needed

service to poverty level families of Middle Tennessee. To date Nashville Habitat has built or

recycled more than 675 homes locally, and provides training to possible new homeowners

helping to create a better educated community (Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville,

2015). Do you know someone struggling or want to be more active in bettering your community?

Habitat for Humanity can give you that.

Background

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville is one of many chapters of the main Habitat

for Humanity International. This local chapter serves the counties of Davidson, Wilson, Dickson,

and Cheatham (Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville, 2015). Habitat for Humanity of

Greater Nashville shares the values of the main organization which is to help low-income

families live a better, safer life by assisting them with building or renovating affordable housing.

They have also incorporated education in their assistance by partnering up with other companies

to help teach the community proper techniques of building (Habitat for Humanity, 2015). Habitat

also offers a 70 hour course on managing a home called HOMEworks, which is required of any

Habitat homeowner (Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville, 2015). Habitat isn’t just local or

national, they are worldwide bringing assistance to families in over 70 countries (Habitat for

Humanity, 2015).


In 2013 Habitat celebrated raising the walls on its 800,000 home (Habitat for Humanity,

2013). Last November Habitat hit the milestone of 1 million families that were helped to

improve their lives since the founding in 1976. In 2014 alone, Habitat helped over 300,000

families worldwide. Though, there are about 1.6 billion people still in need of housing support,

Habitat has certainly helped make a large impact on those numbers (Habitat for Humanity,

2015). Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville was responsible for 875 of the homes built of

recycled, 675 were here locally. This local chapter has been ranked in the top 30 for number of

homes built out of the Habitat affiliates (Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville, 2015).

War on Poverty

Habitat along with many other nonprofit organizations are a part of a war, a War on

Poverty. The year 2014 was the 50 year anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s State of the

Union address on January 8, 1964. The speech was part of the debate on “how the country

should help its most vulnerable citizens…” (Perry, 2013). Though, we are still struggling with

poverty today there have been improvements. Poverty rate is at 15%, which is lower than before

the War on Poverty, also the poverty rate for senior citizens is down to 9%; that number is

drastically lower from 35% in 1959 (Perry, 2013).

There has been much debate on the War on Poverty and many that are not fully on board

or have wanted to move on and not waste their time and efforts. There are some critics who side

with Milton Friedman and his argument that the sole responsibility of a company is to make

money for its shareholders. Though, the problem with that statement is how many business

managers misinterpreted Friedman’s words and used them to engage in immoral and unethical

and even illegal activities for their own personal and corporate greed. This greed has been a

contributing factor in the most recent global recession, which has a direct impact on the lives of


millions of people around the world and it was not a positive one. Recently many companies

have implemented the corporate social responsibility movement to improve their image. Sadly,

for many companies it has been just that, a façade to cover up their unethical business practices.

So, if only keeping shareholders in mind and company social responsibility haven’t worked what

is the next purpose that companies should adopt? How about compassion? When companies

exercise compassion the outcome is not to generate profit but to make a difference in their

communities. Some of the biggest known companies have adopted a compassionate policy and

they haven’t had much trouble keeping their shareholders happy. Some of those companies

include, Ford Motor Company, Target, AT&T and PepsiCo. So to the critics that argue that

companies waste their time and shareholder money on community service, it seems that being

compassionate has proved them wrong (Bejou, 2011).

Saving Lives

With the long-standing debate over poverty many myths have arose about affordable

housing. As far as health, 10 million people around the world die every year due to substandard

living conditions including unclean water and poor sanitation. Emory University did a study on

children under the age of 5 in Malawi living in a Habitat home; the study showed that in the

Habitat homes there were 44% fewer cases of malaria and respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases

when compared to the children raised in traditional houses (Reckford, 2011).

There was a recent study performed on low-income Americans and the effects of burning

solid fuels. Burning solid fuels creates household air pollution (HAP), HAP is a serious problem

for many people worldwide. HAP can be contributed as an independent risk factor for COPD,

childhood pneumonia, low birth weight, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and even cataracts.

Studies have found a number of 4 million people killed each year from HAP. In the U.S. alone


2.5 million households use solid fuel as their primary heating source, that mean 6.5 million

people are affected by HAP. HAP is more often studied in less developed countries because they

are more likely to use solid fuels for cooking as well as heating, which subjects them to HAP

year round rather than just heating in the winter like many Americans use wood stoves for. Even

though HAP isn’t as large of an issue for Americans in comparison to less developed countries it

still remains to be a health risk to many low income families in America. The counties targeted in

the study were rural, in these counties there is a higher infant mortality rate and the number of

deaths from chronic lower respiratory disease was nearly double of the national average. More

studies need to be conducted to fully evaluate the risk that HAP poses on many Americans but I

feel that this is something that Habitat for Humanity can and inadvertently has helped decrease.

For many Americans the HAP risk comes from wood or coal burning stoves and low-income

families not having the funds to purchase more efficient stoves or maintenance/ inspection to

assure proper ventilation. Habitat for Humanity can help these families by renovating for a more

efficient heating system which would help reduce illness and ultimately save lives (Rogalsky,

Mendola, Metts, & Martin II, 2014).

Civic Engagement is for Everyone

There are many that don’t believe that affordable housing is their problem. Jonathan T.M.

Reckford argued this accusation in his speech about affordable housing. When the people of a

community invest in housing it attracts new business which creates jobs and ultimately has

shown to improve the quality of the community. During the housing crisis many families

foreclosed on their homes which affected communities greatly. In North Carolina a community

from Winston-Salem reached out to Habitat for Humanity to help clean up a community that was

badly affected by foreclosure and suffering from the increased crime in the area. Habitat


committed to replace 16 houses in the community which prompted private developers to chip in

renovating 6 more houses and also apartment buildings. Within 3 years of the project beginning

crime in the area dropped by 50% and the drug offenses lowered more than 70% (Reckford,

2011). If you still think that affordable housing is not your problem Reckford addressed another

popular myth that is offensive to hear which is homeownership is not for low-income families.

The recent housing crisis helped birth this ugly myth. The truth is that whomever is buying the

home they need a fair mortgage with reasonable terms that the buyer understands, also taking

into account other living expenses. This is why Habitat has HOMEworks. Potential Habitat

homeowners are also carefully selected by their need but also their ability to pay and willingness

to partner. Habitat wants their families to succeed and do a considerable amount of preparation

and educating so that the families don’t fail. Habitat foreclosure rates are about 2%, even in the

areas where the foreclosure rate is as high as 20-30%. Housing foreclosure is not something that

only low-income families are affected by, suburban areas are struggling almost just as much as

center cities (Reckford, 2011).

The housing crisis was an opportunistic time for Habitat for Humanity to reassess the

needs of the public. With the many abandon houses and the current city housing standards,

Habitat needed a new plan to help the struggling communities. This situation allowed for a new

door to open up, a new way for Habitat to start thinking of how they can help in other ways.

Habitat for Humanity met this challenge. Instead of building affordable houses for struggling

families Habitat started to renovate the houses that were left vacant. Habitat also helped

homeowners with desperate exterior repairs and landscaping. Many local businesses jump on

board when Habitat rolls into town, they see how much helping families helps the community

they realize they can do more for their neighbors (Adomaitis, 2014). Habitat for Humanity has


brought many companies and communities together to help end the War on Poverty and teach

how important compassion and community service is to everyone’s benefit. Some of the many

well-known companies that have partnered with Habitat include PG&E, Valspar, Wells Fargo,

and Lowe’s. Habitat has a partnership with Valspar and Wells Fargo which launched a national A

Brush with Kindness Week. This partnership has brought improvements to many low-income

family homes by transforming the exterior of their homes. Many of the homeowners that were

assisted were elderly or disabled and with the help of A Brush with Kindness are able to continue

living independently in their homes (Habitat for Humanity International, 2015). PG&E

committed $1 million to the PG&E Solar Habitat program. This program has helped lower the

electricity bill and carbon footprint by $500 a year and more than 132,000lbs of carbon dioxide.

So far PG&E have focused their efforts in the northern and central California areas (PG&E,

2015). Habitat for Humanity has also paired with many other local affiliates all over the country,

and there are not many major organizations that they haven’t partnered up with. Though, a new

idea might be for Habitat for Humanity to partner up with local city governments to build or

restore shelter areas for the homeless that would provide a way for them to have clean water to

bathe and wash clothes and also get out of the elements. I know that the Nashville area has a

large homeless community and if Habitat for Humanity partnered with the city and maybe a job

opportunity program there could be a lot less homeless people on the street. I had the idea that

there would be a system set up that would house the homeless on a contingency. The contingency

being that the individuals would use the housing to clean and prepare themselves for a job, once

they have a job they are then subject to pay rent until they can move out on their own or they

may be able to set up jobs for people at the shelter (e.g. cleaning, plumbing, repair). I know

many businesses are not as apt to hire someone who doesn’t have access to a shower and washer.


I also know that many people had been forced out of their homes with the recent economy crash

and this would be an opportunity for them to get their lives back on track. It may not be a

feasible idea but it might be worth looking into.

There are many ways that everyone can volunteer with Habitat for Humanity; it’s not

always about going a build site with a hard hat and hammer. Habitat for Humanity has set up

many ReStore locations that accept donations of new or used home and office furnishings, even

building supplies. Habitat for Humanity also accepts monetary donations to help fund the many

projects. I would personally enjoy going to a build site and putting the skills, which were handed

down to me from my father, to good use. I have always enjoyed working with my hands and

creating. I mostly just do little projects around the house. I think it would be great opportunity to

go to a build site and help a neighbor in need.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Habitat for Humanity seeks to better their local communities though

providing low cost housing that is clean and safe, for low-income families that may otherwise be

subjected to unfavorable living arrangements. Providing this allows for the children of the

families better opportunities later in life, and training the families on proper home ownership

allows for a better community. Ensuring neighbors have an affordable and safe place to live is a

commitment that every community should help with. Housing is the backbone of a community

and if we do not support the backbone the community will suffer and crumble.


References

Adomaitis, M. (2014, September 1). Habitat for Humanity focusing on rehabbing, not building.

Retrieved from Smart Business: http://www.sbnonline.com/article/habitat-humanity-

focusing-rehabbing-building/

Bejou, D. (2011). Compassion as the New Philosophy of Business. Journal of Relationship

Marketing, 1-6.

Habitat for Humanity. (2013, November 6). Habitat for Humanity raises walls on its 800,000th

milestone home. Retrieved from Habitat for Humanity:

http://www.habitat.org/newsroom/2013archive/11_06_2013_800k_milestone

Habitat for Humanity. (2014, November 13). Habitat for Humanity surpasses one million

families served worldwide. Retrieved from Habitat for Humanity:

http://www.habitat.org/newsroom/2014archive/11-18-2014-habitat-surpasses-1-million-

families-served-worldwide

Habitat for Humanity. (2015, October 26). About Habitat for Humanity. Retrieved from Habitat

for Humanity: http://www.habitat.org/how

Habitat for Humanity International. (2015, September 17). Habitat for Humanity helps low-

income families during first national A Brush with Kindness Week. Retrieved from PR

NewsWire: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/habitat-for-humanity-helps-low-

income-families-during-first-national-a-brush-with-kindness-week-300145137.html

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville. (2015, October 26). About Habitat for Humanity of

Greater Nashville. Retrieved from Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville:

http://www.habitatnashville.org/about


Perry, S. (2013). Anniversary of Poverty Speech Renews Battle Over Helping the Poor.

Chronicle Of Philanthropy, 26(4), 21-23.

PG&E. (2015, July 23). PG&E Commits $1 Million to Solar-Powered Habitat for Humanity

Homes. Retrieved from About PG&E:

http://www.pge.com/en/about/newsroom/newsdetails/index.page?title=20150723_pge_co

mmits_1_million_to_solar-powered_habitat_for_humanity_homes

Reckford, J. T. (2011, September 27). Three Myths About Affordable Housing. Cambridge,

Massachusetts.

Rogalsky, D. K., Mendola, P., Metts, T. A., & Martin II, W. J. (2014). Estimating the Number of

Low-Income Americans Exposed to Household Air Pollution from Burning Solid Fuels.

Environmental Health Perspectives, 806-810.

Building Today to House a Better Tomorrow

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