West Central Minnesota, Habitat for Humanity

“Every day is a gift. Sometimes I can’t believe its true,” Alberto Martinez, homeowner, says of his family experience working with Habitat staff and volunteers.

Mission : Habitat for Humanity of West Central Minnesota works in Christian partnership with God and people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with God’s people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent houses in decent communities in which people can live and grow into all that God intended.

How we work: Families are selected based on need, willingness to partner, and ability to pay. Each family completes 200-500 hours of “sweat equity” as they work on their home and complete homeownership classes. They then purchase the home with a 30-year, 0% interest mortgage. The mortgage payments we receive from our partner families go back into the Fund for Humanity and are used to build more homes in our communities.

Where we work: This affiliate builds homes in the counties of Chippewa, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Renville, and Swift. Since 1993, we have built 60 homes throughout this service area.

Poverty housing is a cause for concern in West Central Minnesota. Over 3,000 families in our service area spend more than 30% of their monthly income on rent. This makes it difficult for them to meet other basic needs such as food and preventative healthcare. For more information on housing issues in your area, see the Minnesota Housing Partnership’s County Profiles: http://www.mhponline.org/research/county-profiles/2009 .

Thank you for helping Habitat for Humanity of West Central Minnesota make the dream of safe, decent, and affordable housing a reality for all.