Home Visit

I had a busy day of work with Habitat for Humanity today. I met with a Partner Family so that they could make their materials selections (ie. - carpet, vinyl, siding, shingles, etc.) for their new home. It is always good for me to spend time with our Partner Families. I come away energized and have a renewed sense of why I do what I do. I love working with our families!
I also had the privilege of participating in a home visit for an applicant family. Whenever I do a home visit, I am reminded in a whole different way of why I do what I do. The reason we do home visits is to verify that families are currently living in substandard conditions. Families have to demonstrate that they have a need for safe, decent, affordable housing. This goes to mission and purpose of Habitat for Humanity: to eliminate poverty housing from the face of the earth. Families cannot qualify as Habitat Partner Families simply for having the desire to be homeowners. They have to be living in substandard conditions.
I tell families before we begin that the purpose of the home visit is not to do a "white glove test" to check to see if they dusted recently. We are looking for physical problems with the house that make it substandard: leaky roof, mold, overcrowded conditions, sagging floors, poor insulation, etc. We have a checklist that we use to determine if families meed the qualification of need for housing.
This is always a humbling thing for me when I do a home visit. First, I feel honored that they family trusts us enough to welcome us into their home. Secondly, I am always astounded that in the United States of America, the richest country in the world, people are living in deplorable conditions. These kinds of substandard conditions are all around us and too often we drive by them and don't even notice them or take the time to get to know the families who live in these houses.
Often families who apply to Habitat have no where else to turn. They live in houses and apartments owned by slum lords who do nothing but take their money and never fix anything. I have heard horror stories about landlords who could care less if children go to bed every night under leaky roofs, bedrooms caked in mold and infested with rats. This is not the stuff of movies. This is real life and it happens every day in my community and in your community. Families live in these conditions because they cannot afford anything else. They are at the mercy of people who simply want their money and don't care about them as human beings.
The driving motivation for Habitat for Humanity is that everyone ought to have a decent place in which to live. I embrace this thought with all my heart and work every day to make it a reality.
As I sat in the home of the family today, I again was reminded of the huge need for safe, decent, affordable housing. I said a prayer to God for this family as I walked through their home. I also said a prayer of thanksgiving for the honor and privilege I have to enter this family's story and in some way make a difference. I also thanked God for the miracle and ministry that is Habitat for Humanity.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!