Newsletter Sign-Up
Studies find that sweat-equity program transforms lives in Minnesota...
The before-and-after picture is dramatic for people who move into a Habitat for Humanity home in Minnesota.
Once they move into their new homes, Habitat families make more money and use fewer government social programs. Their kids do better in school. Families feel safer and spend more time together. All in all, 92 percent of Habitat homeowners say their lives are better since they moved into their homes.
“We’re able to completely change a family’s life,” said Kristin Skaar, a spokeswoman for Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota. “It’s definitely a hand up vs. a handout.”
These and other positive social and financial outcomes are revealed in a newly released study by Wilder Research, which looked at 402 families that moved into Habitat homes between 1989 and 2014. The group was nearly evenly split between the Twin Cities metro region and outstate Minnesota.
Paul Mattessich, executive director of Wilder Research, said the results are among the most positive of any study he’s been involved with.
“As a researcher, of course, you’re always cautious and qualify things. But it’s a pretty strong finding,” he said.
Sarah Olson grabbed lunch for 7-year-old Jamal and Sofia as their father, Abdi Mohamed, worked at the computer.
Habitat families, Mattessich said, “are not just receiving a service, but they’re transforming their environment. And that is connected to so many aspects of life that we know, in total, constitute health and wellness.”
To qualify for a Habitat home, individuals or families must make between 30 percent and 60 percent of the area median income. In rural Minnesota, that’s a range of about $19,000 to $36,000; in the metro area, it’s about $24,000 to $49,000.
Homeowners invest between 200 and 500 hours of sweat equity alongside Habitat staff members and volunteers, then purchase the home with a zero-percent-interest mortgage.
Habitat’s 31 affiliates have built about 2,300 homes in the state since the mid-1980s. The group builds about 50 homes a year in the Twin Cities and about 40 in the rest of the state.
This is a fascinating article; to read it in its entirety, simply click on Habitat for Humanity Dramatically Improves Lives .