Impact

At Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity our success is measured by our impact. We believe it’s our responsibility to be outstanding stewards of our financial resources that are entrusted to us by our partners and sponsors. We also believe it’s our responsibility to maximize the investment of every donor and volunteer by making the maximum impact in the lives of low income families.

Our Impact on the Budget of the Low Income Family

Behind every Habitat family served is a story. The common thread in most of the stories is increased financial literacy and a dramatically improved family budget. Here are two examples:

Michele R. moved into her new Habitat home in 2012. She’s a senior adult that lives alone and has a monthly income of $1,854. When she entered our program her monthly expense for housing was 60% and she had only 25% discretionary income. After completing our Homeowner Education Plus program, her sweat equity, and closing on her Habitat home her monthly housing expense was reduced to 30% and discretionary income increased to 66%.

Mattie B. is a single mom with one dependent. Her monthly income is $2,417. She illustrates the impact of our financial literacy program on preparing low income families for homeownership. When she applied for our program her debt to income ratio was 73%. Budget experts recommend that debt to income ratio not exceed 40%. After completing our financial literacy classes, working with a budgeting coach, and following her budget, she’s reduced her debt to income ratio to 38%. She’s completing her sweat equity and waiting for construction to begin on her new Habitat home.

Our Impact on the Health, Well-Being and Stability of our Homeowners

Habitat homeowners are all low income first time home buyers. Almost without exception, they were previously renters. The impact of homeownership on their lives is long lasting and transformative. Some of the impacts include:

  • Their children achieve higher educational success and are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college.
  • They are less likely to have teenage daughters get pregnant before age 16.
  • They increase their civic involvement and become more likely to vote, be involved in community service, and attend church.
  • They are less likely to require any form of public assistance.
  • They are more likely to be healthy and consider themselves happy.

To read more extensive research on the impact of home ownership on health, well-being, and stability you can read the following studies:

Harvard Joint Center for Housing Study

Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing

Our Impact on the Community

 Since 1986, our affiliate has been changing the lives of low income families in Southeast Metropolitan Atlanta and impacting our community one family at a time. We’ve served more than 400 families with a wide range of housing services. Every day we look for ways to increase our impact.

To find out how you can partner with us to expand and deepen our impact, please contact Development (development@schabitat.org) or call 770.477.2367.