Habitat for Humanity San Fernando/Santa Clarita Valleys has become one with its sister organization Homes 4 Families, Board Chairman Hunt Braly and President & CEO Donna Deutchman announced today.
Under the newly merged organization, the nonprofit organization will expand its veteran-specific housing model to provide services and homes beyond Los Angeles.
Homes 4 Families was originally launched in 2008 as a sister agency to the Habitat affiliate that was founded in 1990 to serve low-income families.
“We will now operate under the Homes 4 Families name to better focus on supporting low-income veterans,” Braly said.
Homes 4 Families pioneered the Enriched Neighborhood model, an innovative, outcome-proven program in which families gain access to comprehensive services in addition to permanent housing.
Five years ago, the organization’s board of directors and staff recognized the specific, unmet needs of low-income veterans and their families, and redirected their focus towards this population.
Under the Homes 4 Families, the organization began a groundbreaking partnership with the California Department of Veterans Affairs to begin building homes for military veterans, servicemen, servicewomen and their families.
The impact has been astounding. With the support of CalVet and other generous corporate sponsors and individual donors, Homes 4 Families has built 144 homes in five Enriched Neighborhoods in Northern Los Angeles communities including Santa Clarita, Pacoima, Burbank and Sylmar.
Homes 4 Families provides veterans with no-cost social services that equip them to succeed in civilian life, including financial education, therapeutic workshops, trauma-informed programs and veteran-to-veteran support.
To date, Homes 4 Families has had zero foreclosures, with families receiving the full equity of their homes and seeing household incomes increase by an average of 19 percent.
Homes 4 Families is currently building 80 homes for families in Santa Clarita, Palmdale and North Hollywood. The organization is empowering low-income veterans and their families to enter the middle class through affordable homeownership or housing and holistic services that build resiliency, self-sufficiency and economic growth. Homes 4 Families is now expanding its services geographically.
About Homes 4 Families
Homes 4 Families (www.homes4families.org) empowers low-income veterans and their families to enter the middle class through affordable, full-equity homeownership and sustainable housing combined with holistic services that build resiliency, self-sufficiency and economic growth. Through its outcome-proven Enriched Neighborhood model, the nonprofit provides servicemen, servicewomen and their families with comprehensive wraparound services that equip them to succeed in civilian life, including financial education, therapeutic workshops, trauma-informed programs and veteran-to-veteran support. With more than ten years of research-backed experience and success, Homes 4 Families works closely with the California Department of Veterans Affairs and others to build permanent, thriving veteran communities.
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24 Comments
Instead of changing it’s name, they should be changing the required minimum amount of income a veteran should make in order to qualify for a home!! A minimim is 56k is ridiculous! Stop making it harder than it already is!!
Rena, look into the Palmdale community.. There minimum is lower.
Section 8 Poverty
56k is reasonable. It’s just slightly over minimum wage! I didn’t think these families want welfare. I hope we didn’t create a future slum but rather a community of happy, hopeful,appreciative families.
I dont know what world you live in but that’s not slightly over minimim wage! The goal is to help and keep VET’S who served out of homelessness and poverty and 56k in California doesn’t do that! Not to mention that’s the requirement for the VET to make on their own without a spouse’s income. Extremely judgmental of you. But there’s too much going on in the world so my energy will be put in praying for a better one!
So even if the minimum income was dropped below 56k, you’d be able to get into a house but wouldn’t be able to make the payments. What’s the point Rena.
Rena, I disagree I’d say many American families in America live on 56k a year and don’t get free medical. This is the minimum required.
Mando. Your statement doesn’t make sense. If it were lowered they’d re-evaluate the payment amount. An average Veteran without a degree with an average job makes 30k-36k a year BEFORE taxes!!
Shirley….you are very uneducated. Please spend time talking to a Veteran and their family who came out of the military without any help but their own labor. For a single Veteran with 1 income to have 56 K AFTER taxes to qualify for a “habitat” home…..they may as well purchase a home outside of the program for that matter. Disagree all you want but you are clearly speaking out of assumption and or do not know the struggles of a VET! Making a statement like hoping they didn’t create a “slum” out of it is disgusting! But the VET was good enough to suite up and serve for our country and your freedom though right?
Min wage is $12 in most parts of LA .. working 40hrs/wk 52 wks a yr is $24,960 .. x2 (if there are two incomes) is $49,920 BEFORE taxes!! I’m not a veteran but I do know I work TWO jobs and one I get paid $14/hr and the other $12/hr and I still barely make over $30,000 a yr .. there is not a lot of people who bring home $56,000 a yr and NO ONE ON MINIMUM WAGE is bringing that home!!
I understand that Wendy. The word slightly was maybe inappropriate but to afford to live in a house as opposed to an apartment takes a greater income to manage the costs as in taxes,utilities, and maintenance. I assume they will have a house pmt of some kind and property taxes based on value are hundreds a month. Financial stress would be difficult especially on a vet with psd. Housing costs for families in this valley especially are hard on young people. Good luck.
Rena Lewis yes, but financial stress on a vet is difficult especially with psd. If a house can’t be maintained, it falls into disrepair. It likely will take two incomes to afford these houses and the costs that go with them. A home outside that program in this valley would be impossible on the same income. The program requirements are designed for success and low financial stress. Just the taxes alone are challenging. Nothing breaks up families more often then financial stress. The program is designed for success for vets and their families. So far it’s working.
P.s. If a house is assessed @300,000$ which are few in SC, the property taxes are over 4,000, a year. That’s over 300$ a month alone.
There’s no further reason to continue with you. You are extremely uneducated. Your facts maybe make sense for a regular home….but not a home in the program. You are either truly blind or have never had to struggle the way millions of veterans have! In which by the way….I am the wife of a Veteran with PTSD!!
Exactly Wendy Medeiros!! You get it!! That’s why your my girl!
Shirley E Vercelli this is a program for low income veterans therefore the value of the house doesn’t pertain to the mortgage and the mortgage can be controlled and the property taxes as well .. it’s not a common situation as if a normal person was buying a house. The program is created to HELP these people afford a house and Rena Lewis’s point is that the average low income family is no where near $56,000
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Elizabeth Hilda May Price you should check to see if the requirements have changed
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This housing development is set up to be a ‘stepping stone’, to get veterans and their family on their feet and into affordable homeownership. It’s not meant to be the end all-be all.
If you have two working adults in the family, they should be able to make this very affordable mortgage. It’s cheaper than what rent is currently going for in SCV.
Agree Selena….but the required income is solely for the VET. It makes better sense if its combined income but this doesn’t include the spouses income. So with that being said. ..if they are taking a “lower class” VET and trying to help them with this “stepping stone”….that makes it near to impossible. Therefore keeping VETS homeless.
Rena, We are a veteran family that is blessed to be a part of this housing community. And I can tell you first hand, your facts are incorrect (in regards to these specific communities). Please, please, please, reach out to a Homes 4 Families rep and ask the important questions..
818
They should start paying their vendors and they wouldn’t have as many issues with reputation.