It's About a Great Need
Poverty Housing’, the words conjure images; shacks in Mississippi, tenements in Detroit. Our heart opens to the needs of those who live in such circumstances, but as Midwesterners we tend to think of it as an issue elsewhere; no shacks in Iowa, no tenements in Des Moines.
Sadly, we are wrong. Poverty housing is a painful reality in Polk County; it simply has a different look. It’s the family of six in a two bedroom rental, because that is what they can afford, or the single working mother of two, working three weeks of the month merely to pay the rent.
In Greater Des Moines, poverty housing is manifest in inadequate and cost burdening housing for low income families which like poverty housing everywhere denies the children of those families the opportunity to grow and flourish in a safe and nurturing environment. It assures them a greater probability of health issues and a lower probability of academic success. It virtually guarantees that the cycle of poverty will continue for another generation.
The Polk County Human Services Planning Alliance found that 8,421 very low income households (between 31% and 50% of the Median Family Income) struggle with either inadequate or cost burdened housing. The study declares a need for nearly 7,000 additional home ownership opportunities to be afforded families in need in Polk County.
It's About a 'Hand-Up', Not a Hand-Out
Habitat provides a self-help homeownership opportunity to the families with which we partner. Our families commit 400 hours of 'sweat equity' to the project and at closing purchase the home for the value of the material and land without charge for the volunteer labor, or allowance for profit The families finance the home through Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity through a 20 year NO INTEREST loan.
The combination of the low sale price and the no interest mortgage is what provides the 'hand up' to the American Dream that our partners would otherwise be economically denied.
It's About a Partnership
Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity (GDMHFH) is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to the elimination of poverty housing in Polk County. Uniquely providing homeownership for families below 50% of the median income, GDMHFH provides a self-help solution for people otherwise economically denied the opportunity to secure their own home. Forging partnerships within the community, we empower very low-income working families with a 'hand-up' to a decent and affordable home.
Serving as a catalyst for community giving, GDMHFH guides the financial and voluntary resources of Greater Des Moines into the construction of simple, decent, affordable homes. Families served work with Habitat to build both a foundation of hope and the means to break the cycle of poverty housing. As a community we build brighter futures for children while eliminating poverty housing, one family at a time.