News & Updates

On September 14, I received a call from Habitat for Humanity International CEO, Jonathan Reckford, asking if I would consider a 4 week temporary assignment to help Habitat plan its response to the devastation caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida.   I gave it some quick thought and checked in with my family and our Habitat Wake board and leadership team and accepted the assignment.

Lowe's Heroes will work alongside Northeast End residents on Saturday, October 7. Beginning at 8:15 a.m., volunteers will

Habitat Wake's beginnings began at the Corner Restaurant in the town of Wake Forest. In early 1985, Jack VandenHengel; Chris Fuller, son of Habitat for Humanity International founder Millard Fuller; and three others met to discuss the formation of an affiliate in Wake Forest. Around the same time, Dennis Gabriel, John Wilson and Fred Johnson, were meeting to discuss organizing an affiliate in Raleigh.

Lisa Rowe, executive director of local non-profit Families Together recently wrote an excellent op-ed piece published in the News & Observer.  A former colleague of mine from Habitat for Humanity International, Lisa knows first hand-through her work at Families Together the struggle of families facing homeless in our local community.

http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article172287507.html

The cost of housing is skyrocketing in many metropolitan area across the country and, as Wake County grows, we’re experiencing those effects here as well. In an opinion piece published by the New York Times, two economics professors describe how land use restrictions contribute to increasing housing costs.

Sweat equity is the "sweat" homebuyers contribute in exchange for a safe, affordable home. Homebuyers must complete 200 hours of sweat equity prior to closing on their homes.

Our hearts go out to the Houston residents starting their recovery from Hurricane Harvey. We've been in touch with Houston Habitat about helping them, and learned that they have more than 100 homeowners with acute needs.

The wealth gap in the United States when analyzed by race is staggering.  The Economic Policy Institute concludes in their publication, The State of Working America, that two-thirds of a typical household’s wealth comes from housing equity.  Homeownership not only provides a family with a safe, stable, and secure place to live, but it is also the chief driver of wealth-building in our country.  Access to wealth and capital is the primary way to break the cycle of poverty.  Check out this graphic from the Economic Policy Institute.

I used to live close to Charlottesville and had a hand in starting the Habitat affiliate there in the early ’90’s, so the events over the past weekend feel very personal on many levels. Habitat International President and CEO Jonathan Reckford’s words are are a good message in response, as are Habitat Charlottesville’s CEO Dan Rosensweig’s words, as both tie the hatred and violence on display in Charlottesville back to similar activities surrounding Habitat founding organization, Koinonia Farm back in the 1950’s and ’60’s.