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Questions and Answers
Q. What are partner families?
A. Habitat partner families comprise hard-working people who are living in substandard housing. These families,
selected by Habitat for Humanity of Dubois County, have enough income to pay for a
Habitat house, but not enough income to get out of bad housing. They are willing to work to help build
their house and the houses of other Habitat partner families. Tow committees of Habitat do extensive
screening of applicants based on a set of standards, including income
guidelines, established by Habitat International and the local Habitat
board. Habitat families are called
partner families because we become partners with them to help build their
houses.
Q. Does Habitat give away houses?
A. No. The partner family pays for the
house. It is affordable for two reasons. First, most of the labor
is volunteer and the families are not charged for that. Second, the mortgages are
interest-free.
Q. What is expected of a partner family?
A. A partner family
with two adults must complete 400 hours of sweat equity (volunteer work). A partner family with one adult must
complete 200 hours of sweat equity. The families must finish half of the sweat equity before
construction on their house can begin and all of the hours must be completed before they can move
in. That sweat equity can include
work on Habitat houses, self-improvement classes (such as financial management,
insurance planning and home care) and volunteer service to the community and
Habitat, as long as it is approved by Habitat.
Q. Why should a church help builds a house for someone
who’s not a member of the parish?
A. By putting families in adequate shelter, we are doing God’s work. We are giving our brothers and sisters
an opportunity to improve themselves. And we are helping to improve the community itself. This work brings the tithing, or 10% of everything we have, to fruition
within our own community.
Q. What’s to prevent a partner family from selling
the house for a profit?
A. There are safeguards since the value of the house is considerably more than the mortgage. Habitat places a second, soft mortgage
on the house. That, combined with the first mortgage, equals the value of the house. SO that mortgage must also be paid off
if the house is ever sold.
Q. I don’t know a nail from a 2 x 4. Can I still help?
A. There are lots of jobs to do besides construction work. We need people to help raise money.
We need people to provide lunch for work crews and to haul
materials. We need people who can do landscaping and site improvement. We need help during the year to mail letters, hang flyers and spread the word about Habitat and our work.
We need people to pray for the project.
Q. How
do I volunteer for the project?
A. You’ll find the interest/skill form on the home page of the website. Just print out, fill out the questions
and mail back to the Habitat office.
Q. What if I want to do
more with Habitat than just work with this project?
A. Habitat in Dubois County will continue
to build houses and it needs a strong volunteer base to do that. There is a lot of work to do besides the
actual construction. Selection and Support committees pick partner families and work with them by mentoring them through the process of home building and ownership. Site selection volunteers seek building
lots. The Development committee
members raise money, recruit volunteers and publicize Habitat. The Building committee plans and
implements the actual construction. Volunteers are needed on all these committees as well as
the actual construction. To volunteer, fill out the volunteer survey on this website and send it in to the Habitat office. We will help to find the perfect match for your skills and our needs!
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