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Habitat home will be interfaith effort
YOUNGSTOWN
One of the four homes that Mahoning County Habitat for Humanity plans to build this year will be a collective effort involving Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and Baha’i groups.
“We hope to build our first interfaith home, the House of Abraham, this year,” said Monica Craven, executive director of the local Habitat for Humanity, an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, an ecumenical Christian ministry.
Hopefully, collaborating with other religious groups will help more people understand the Habitat program, she said.
“I’m very excited about the idea. We may disagree on a lot of things, but can’t we all agree that people deserve a decent place to live and come together around that?” Craven asked.
One of the things Habitat is trying to promote is inclusiveness. People don’t have to be from a particular religion or even have a religion to participate. Habitat has the “theology of a hammer,” she said.
Craven said Christian and Baha’i groups have committed to the House of Abraham, and she hopes others will also.
Habitat for Humanity International surpassed the 400,000-house milestone during its most recent fiscal year. Since it was founded in 1976, it has rehabilitated, repaired or built new housing for more than 2 million people worldwide.
Mahoning County Habitat has contributed to the global effort by building, rehabilitating or repairing 34 homes since beginning in 1989. The goal for 2011 is to build four new homes, rehabilitate one home and build several handicap ramps, all for low-income families, Craven said.
At this point, Mahoning County Habitat has only one family qualified for a new home, so it is looking for three more, she said.
To that end, Mahoning County Habitat is offering an orientation session for families interested in becoming family partners with Habitat. The meeting is at 6 p.m. Jan. 18 at Victory Christian Center, 3899 McCartney Road (U.S. Route 422) in Youngstown. Those interested should call Craven at 330-743-7244.
There is room for hardworking families willing to go through the program. It takes an average of 18 months from application to moving in, Craven said. But Habitat homes are not free
Partner families must provide “sweat equity” by helping to build their home and must qualify financially. A family of four must have an income between $16,000 and $32,000 a year and pass a credit check.
“We make sure that partner families don’t pay more than one-third of their income for household expenses, including mortgage, utilities and maintenance,” she said.
Mahoning County Habitat’s major community partners include the Mahoning County Neighborhood Stabilization Program Grant, City of Youngstown, JP Morgan Chase, Federal Home Loan Bank and several local foundations that partner with local businesses and faith-based community groups to provide volunteers and funding for the projects.
One of the potential sponsors this year’s projects is a little closer to home for Craven. Her cousin, Noah Pope, 13, a student at Coleytown Middle School in Westport, Conn., is trying to raise $2,500, the approximate cost of a bathroom, for Mahoning County Habitat, as a community project for his bar mitzvah.
To raise the money, he is selling 250 rolls of toilet paper for $10 each, Craven said.