- 80% of the people in Helena need the houses we build at the price we build them.
- As a community we pay for what we value. We need to figure out what that is.
- Housing is not an investment. It is a necessity.
-Jacob Kuntz, Executive Director Helena Area Habitat for Humanity (HFH)
At the SMCC fall potluck, Jacob Kuntz shared his vision for making affordable housing available to virtually all people in the Helena area. “A community needs its workers. And our goal is to put ourselves out of business,” he stated without missing a beat. He described 3 areas in town, Red Fox Meadows, acreage north of town on Benton Avenue and land west of ASARCO in East Helena, where Habitat has purchased land. The plan is to build a mixed variety of neighborhood housing with access to parks and other amenities such as schools and shopping. This plan encourages community building among the people in the neighborhood who come from different walks of life. Building affordable housing will be made possible in part by the sale of some of the lots to for profit builders. Habitat has plans to build 300 homes in the next few years in the Helena area. There are currently 450 people on their wait list.
Habitat fills a specific niche in the network of services for people needing housing which is different from the niche filled by God’s Love and Family Promise. Many of the people Habitat serves are housed, often in subsidized housing. These families work with Habitat to put their finances in order so they can get a loan. They put in hours of labor to help build the home that will soon be theirs. Their monthly payments for their own homes are often more affordable for them than renting and they are building equity in their homes. As importantly, they experience the joy, freedom and empowerment that comes with owning their own homes. The equity they can earn is capped so that the home remains in the affordable housing pool if the family sells it. And another family can move into the subsidized apartment they moved out of. Using this system, Habitat makes a powerful, lasting impact on the housing crisis in Helena and the 12,000 other communities that have HFH affiliates. They have built 22 million homes located in every state and in 70 countries around the world.
Habitat for Humanity is a social justice organization. It was founded in 1942 when 2 families in Americus Georgia started an interracial community where resources were shared, and all people were treated equally. At that time people of color and women faced economic discrimination in many ways, including being excluded from the banking system. This made it extremely difficult for them to obtain housing and kept them in poverty. Since 1992, Helena Area HFH has honored this legacy by operating effectively, ethically and with integrity to reduce poverty and its systemic roots by providing affordable housing. Safe and secure housing is known to be the key necessary for a family to create and sustain health and independence.
~We are not rescuing. We are creating opportunity.
-Jacob Kuntz
Helena Area HFH is one of the organizations supported by St. Mary Catholic Community. Listen to Jacob’s talk here: https://youtu.be/HGeQFRRsWUw?si=9cEJwtplTw3cXFwC
To learn more, volunteer or donate visit http://www.helenahabitat.org/.
