GREEN MOUNTAIN HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
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Mission Statement
Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity builds homes for low-income, working families in Chittenden County, Vermont.
About This Cause
Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity builds simple, energy-efficient and perpetually-affordable houses and sells them at cost to families who are at or below 80% of the median household income, who currently live in unsafe and/or overcrowded conditions and who are unable to qualify for a conventional mortgage on a market-rate house. More than half of the renters in Chittenden County lack affordable housing, partly because of the current 1% rental vacancy rate. This shortage of rental properties unfortunately means that some landlords don’t adequately maintain their properties because of the lack of competition for renters. As a result, many low-income families live in apartments with unsafe electrical and plumbing services, mold, vermin, poor insulation and high energy bills. One of our partner families lived in a rental house which was so poorly insulated that their heating bills were $1000 a month and yet icicles still formed on the inside of the windows! As rents increase, or the rental properties are sold, families often have to move. This is extremely unsettling, especially for children who change schools, move away from friends, and move from one substandard apartment to another. Some families are forced to live with family or friends because they can't even find an apartment. The median cost of a Chittenden County home in the first six months of 2021 was $410,000, far out of reach of low-income working families. These families just can’t make the first step up the homeownership ladder because their paychecks go to rent, food, utility bills, childcare, and healthcare, leaving nothing to save for a down payment for a house. As a result, they are forced to stay in substandard rental housing, moving from unsafe apartment to unsafe apartment as rents increase, with no solution in sight. The “ hand-up” that Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity provides by building homes, enables families to leave substandard housing forever, put their family into a safe and well-built home, establish or improve their credit rating and provide a positive model for their children. Children who live in a stable, safe home are more successful in school, and have fewer behavioral and emotional challenges All GMHfH homes include a perpetual affordability clause and the homes are subject to Vermont Housing and Conservation Board Affordability Covenants. Who We Serve In order to qualify for a GMHfH home, a family must have an income of 80% or less of the median income in our community, be living in substandard rental apartments, be able to afford the mortgage payment plus property tax and insurance (currently $900 per month)and be willing to put in 400 sweat equity hours helping to build their home or another home. GMHfH must raise the money needed each year to build decent homes for low income families. We receive NO funding from Habitat International. Our income comes from individual donors and philanthropic entities; the net income from our Habitat ReStores in Williston and Milton; mortgage payments and any sale of our perpetually affordable homes to another low-income working family.