GREENVILLE, Mich. — For some families, having a safe and stable place to live can feel out of reach. In Greenville, a new program from Moncalm County Habitat for Humanity aims to bridge that gap, offering support to families while they wait for permanent housing.
Local mother Katie Dewey knows firsthand how difficult unstable housing can be.
“We went an entire two years without heat. We went months without water at times,” Dewey said.
After years of dealing with unsafe living conditions and an unresponsive landlord, Dewey said she felt stuck.
“Everything just started breaking, and every time we’d contact the landlord, they would refuse to fix it or just never respond to us,” she explained. “It was the only place we had. We looked everywhere, but we just couldn’t find anything else.”
Unable to afford a move, Dewey turned to her local Habitat for Humanity for help. After a 9 to 10 month building process, she and her son were finally able to move into a home of their own.
“I was crying. I was like, this is so nice, we finally have a home,” she said.
Now, the non-profit is expanding its efforts with a new initiative designed to help families earlier in the process.
Their new Eagle’s Nest program will provide one to two years of transitional housing for qualifying families while their permanent homes are being built. In addition to temporary housing, participants will receive financial education and support services.
Program leaders say the goal is to reduce housing instability and give families a safer place to stay during what can otherwise be a stressful waiting period.
“The biggest thing is really having those families in safe housing and removing their housing vulnerability,” said Susan Hoppough, board president of Montcalm County Habitat for Humanity. “Everyone should have a safe home, and we want that for our habitat families.”
Volunteers who helped build the transitional housing say the impact will be significant.
“By them having this resource here, it just makes me personally feel so good inside that they have that,” volunteer John Bagin said. “For the families that are able to leave those bad situations and can get on with their lives is awesome”.
To qualify for the program, families must demonstrate a need for housing, be able to pay an affordable mortgage, and earn between 30% and 60% of the area median income as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Habitat for Humanity leaders acknowledge the program is just a first step.
“This is not enough to make the impact that we want to make on unstable housing in Montcalm County, but it’s definitely a start for us,” said Executive Director Michael Adams.
For Dewey, a program like Eagle’s Nest could have made a major difference during her family’s struggle.
“This would’ve been perfect,” she said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have that at the time, so it was more or less just staying where we were and waiting and hoping that we could get the house done as fast as possible.”
Residents interested in learning more about Montcalm County Habitat for Humanity’s programs or how to get involved can click here.
