Published February 2002

Habitat marks decade
of local service

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

On the 25th anniversary of Habitat for Humanity International, the Southwest Snohomish County Partners Affiliate of the group is celebrating 10 years of its own efforts to build homes for low-income families.

“We just finished a four-plex on Marine View Drive (in Everett) and have property for a new five-plex near The Everett Clinic,” Executive Director Lois Blake said, crediting local businesses, volunteers and churches for making the projects possible.

People’s reactions to being able to have their own home are gratifying, Blake said.

“They are quite pleased to have a home. There’s a lot of self-pride that comes with home ownership,” she said. “But it’s much more than just building a home for them. Because they get involved, too, there are opportunities for families to get to know their community better.”

Homeowners selected by Habitat for Humanity must help build their own homes, putting in 500 hours of “sweat equity,” but many families put in much more, Blake said.

Families are selected according to their need for adequate shelter — those who are homeless or living in substandard housing — and their ability to pay, those who earn 25 to 50 percent of the Housing and Urban Development median income guidelines, she said.

Also, their willingness to partner with Habitat by helping to build their homes and being a resident of the county for at least one year are part of the criteria. Mortgage payments are recycled to build more homes for families in need. Those who need training for their “sweat equity” work receive it.

The original Habitat for Humanity organization formed 25 years ago when a Georgia pastor, Millard Fuller, saw housing needs in his own county that were as severe as the foreign countries where he had organized home building projects. Today, thanks to Habitat for Humanity, substandard housing in that county has been officially eradicated, Blake said.

Worldwide, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) has built more than 100,000 homes in 70 countries. Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, have contributed their own building efforts and promotional support to HFHI since 1984.

In Snohomish County, the local Habitat group became a nonprofit agency in 1991. Its first project was renovating a family-owned home by fixing the roof. Next, a home destroyed by fire was replaced on its foundation to house a family with six children. Next came a home renovation for an elderly resident who would have had to move without Habitat's help.

The Marine View Drive four-plex project in Everett began in 1998 and was finished late last year. Next, the group plans to build a five-plex on Hoyt Avenue near The Everett Clinic, due to be completed in the fall of 2003, said Blake, who was hired as the group’s first executive director and only paid staff person last April to help accelerate home building projects in the county.

“We build where we can find donated or low-cost land in the county, and we’re always looking,” she said. “But we couldn’t build anything without the help of businesses and individuals who donate materials, money and labor. It’s a community effort. We also need more support families for our home-buying families and another experienced construction supervisor.”

Help comes from everywhere, she said, including a 6-year-old girl in Granite Falls whose bake sale raised $87.21 for Habitat and a teen-ager in Everett who donated $200 from a car wash she organized.

And also from people and companies that donate in-kind goods and services such as architect Todd Bullock of Dykeman Architects, American Gypsum, Whirlpool, Shockey-Brent, Schneider Electric Square D, Shurgard Storage, Hogland Transfer, United Rentals and Cycle Barn.

Money donations have come from the city of Everett’s Human Services, HomeStreet Bank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, Frontier Bank, Verizon, The Everett Clinic Foundation and the Scott Employees Fund.

The group’s board of directors includes Boeing engineer Randy Sinn, its President; Russ Smith, CPA, Treasurer; and members Richard Emery, real estate; architect Nell Kovach, representing the group’s Sky Valley chapter in East Snohomish County; social worker Liza Patchen-Short; Fluke Corp. Manager Phil Salditt; Tracie Schlatter, auction organizer; Jeremy Standen, Washington Department of Vocational Rehabilitation; Toni Baumann, Fluke Corp.; Morris Van Horne, Cascade Bank; and youth members Rashel Cordova, Alison Cordova and Sean McGrorey.

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