building together
putting God’s love into action
In the face of COVID-19, Habitat Greensboro remains hard at work. With your support, we continue to pursue our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.
Now more than ever, our work is critical. The shortage of safe, decent, and affordable housing was already at crisis levels before the pandemic. Now, with tens of millions of people in the U.S. filing for unemployment, the situation is far worse. The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a public health crisis — it is a housing crisis.
At Habitat Greensboro, we believe that every family deserves a stable place to call home and that no family should be forced to choose between putting food on the table or keeping a roof over their heads. We also understand that affordable housing is central to building a resilient economy that works for everyone. Therefore, Habitat Greensboro remains committed to building 14 homes in Guilford County this fiscal year. These homes will be sold to families in need of safe, stable, and affordable housing, who work in partnership with Habitat Greensboro.
How will COVID-19 impact Habitat Greensboro moving forward?
Thanks to the generosity, understanding, and flexibility of our sponsors, construction has continued throughout the pandemic. There are currently six homes under construction in three neighborhoods, with an additional two homes scheduled to begin in September.
Habitat Greensboro homes are sponsored by generous companies, faith communities, organizations, and individuals, who look forward to working alongside future homeowners to build homes, hope, and community. Mindful of the need for home and despite restrictions placed on volunteering, these generous sponsors have continued to provide financial support for on-going construction. Their generosity ensures that more families in our community will soon know the safety of home – Thank you!
Volunteers play a critical role at Habitat Greensboro. Sadly, March 13 was the last day that our community volunteers were able to join us. For weeks, our build sites lacked the joyful faces and excitement of volunteers eager to support their community. In June, we were incredibly grateful to welcome back our Weekday Crew volunteers, individuals who join us weekly on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The support of the Weekday Crew has been invaluable in ensuring that construction can continue. These hardworking individuals have supported continued construction, helping to mitigate the impact on our build schedules.
Exercising an abundance of caution, Habitat Greensboro will continue to operate without volunteers until North Carolina moves into Phase 3 of reopening. Once in Phase 3, certain protective measures will remain in place to help ensure everyone’s safety. These measures will include mask requirements and a reduction in the number of volunteers able to join us on the build sites.
These long-term adjustments, the need to replace volunteers with skilled tradespeople on tasks where we cannot assure safe distancing, and rising material costs mean, that our costs to build have increased. These costs are compounded by the seven-week shutdown of our ReStores, which account for 38% of Habitat Greensboro’s revenues, and are themselves operating without their critical volunteer force.
As strong as Habitat Greensboro is, we will need your help to recover. Here’s how you can help:
Donate. We urgently need your financial support. Habitat Greensboro’s costs rise to unsustainable levels when volunteers are removed from the equation, and we need your financial support to continue meeting the needs of the families we serve. Please consider donating today.
Stay Connected. For Habitat Greensboro updates, follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HabitatGreensboro.
Pray. Please join us in praying for those who are ill and those who are struggling financially. Pray for protection over our entire community and all those who come into contact with this Habitat ministry.
For more than 30 years, Habitat Greensboro has built homes, communities, and hope. With your support, we will continue to do so.
Photographs by: Ivan Saul Cutler and Habitat Greensboro Staff