OUR MISSION & VISION

"A World Without Shacks"

    Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing effort dedicated to making decent housing a matter of conscience and action.  We want to eliminate poverty one family at a time.

    Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity has a vision of building five homes each year by 2010.

WHY HABITAT WORKS

"A hand up, not a hand out."

    Houses are built using as much volunteer labor and donated material as possible.  Then employing "biblical economics" they are sold to a family in need (unable to secure a bank loan) at non-profit and no interest. 

    Each partner family is required to put in 250 hours of "sweat equity" per adult during the construction.  The cost of the house is repaid over a fixed period of time.  The payments from this home are recycled to build more homes. 

    No government funds are used for the actual construction of the houses, although such funds may be used for sewer/septic and other costs of site development. 

    All construction funds come from individuals, churches, corporate and foundation grants.

    All habitat projects adhere to a nondiscriminatory family selection policy where neither race nor religion determine who receives a Habitat house. 

    Families are selected on a basis of being willing to "partner" and being able to make the mortgage payments.  Habitat is a hand up, not a hand out.