Housatonic Habitat
HOUSATONIC HABITAT - HOUSING AND MORE
“The American Dream of 2.5 kids, a car in the driveway, and a white picket fence is a fundamental vision many of us still hold…but for some, no matter how hard they work, they are never quite able to get off the hamster wheel and attain that reality,” Housatonic Habitat for Humanity’s Executive Director, Kristen Keil shares.
Habitat for Humanity was founded in the early 1970s with the mission of helping hard-working folks in need access housing within their communities. Habitat for Humanity was first popularized through the involvement of public figures such as President Carter, and gained further notoriety after stepping-up and stepping-in after Hurricane Katrina and other large scale national disasters. Habitat for Humanity is now organized in Regional Chapters - each serving a unique community with a unique set of circumstances and needs. Housatonic Habitat for Humanity, which is self-funded, is the Regional Chapter of Habitat for Humanity that serves Fairfield County, with a headquarters in Danbury, right on the Ridgefield border.
“Our mission is to find, build, or help improve a place that people in our community can call home. It seems so fundamental, and it is… but the reality is that hardworking families and members of our community are often priced right out of the market. Our teachers, transit workers, firefighters, police officers, shopkeepers - who are all vital members of our community - should have the opportunity to live within it,” Kristin declares. “We believe in homeownership because it leads towards family wealth and increased multigenerational opportunities. The typical Habitat family is one that’s been working, where one or two breadwinners have a good job, but they still can’t afford to live amongst us. Though it’s not always the case, it’s typically families – and there are usually kids involved. Our program serves families whose income is between 30-80% of the area median income. We serve a population that’s often overlooked. There are a lot of people that are taken care of via food or homeless shelters and the like on the extreme end of the spectrum…but Habitat is helping hardworking people that just need a hand up – not a hand out.”
Kristen Keil was appointed as the Executive Director of the Housatonic Habitat last August. She shares, “I grew up here and worked in the area in banking my whole career. I’d always done volunteer work, including as the VP of Cheer for the Newtown Youth Football and Cheer organization and as the Chairwoman of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce and with the Rotary Club, but had come to realize I wanted to do something new with my life that somehow felt more meaningful and impactful. Two people I knew who served on the Housatonic Habitat Board reached out to see if I’d ever consider working full-time in the nonprofit space...and I took the leap!”
“Habitat for Humanity follows a unique and effective housing model that focuses on community involvement and affordability,” Kristen explains.
“Habitat starts by purchasing land or existing houses at an affordable price - sometimes property will be donated to Habitat which is even better. This step is crucial to keeping the overall project cost manageable. Once the property is secured, Habitat brings the community together to help reduce the cost of building the house. This is achieved through donations of products and services, volunteer labor, and monetary contributions specifically dedicated to the build.
“Next, Habitat identifies a hardworking family within the community who is in need of affordable housing. This family is selected based on their need for a decent and affordable home, their ability to repay a mortgage, and their willingness to partner with Habitat. The selected family will end up with a mortgage, but this mortgage will be more affordable compared to conventional options. Habitat’s efforts to reduce building costs through community support allow for a lower mortgage amount, making homeownership more accessible for families in need.”
In essence, Habitat for Humanity’s model leverages community resources and volunteerism to create affordable housing opportunities, enabling families to achieve homeownership with a manageable mortgage, and thereby strengthening the entire community. Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership program is based on the concept of partnership. Our commitment to that partnership is to build or renovate simple, decent homes and sell them to qualified working families at below-market prices.”
Kristen continues, “Habitat families are required to partner with us and complete 250 hours of ‘Sweat Equity’ prior to purchasing their home. This includes completing at least 50 hours of financial literacy and homeownership courses. We have volunteer financial advisors who work with families, sometimes for months, to pay down debt, budget, and plan so they can be long-term successful homeowners. …And our financial literacy program is not just for homeowners! We offer regular workshops for people interested in becoming first-time home buyers to help them learn about the process and the steps they can take to become successful homeowners for the long term.”
Cindy Sherman, Housatonic Habitat’s Director of Marketing, shares, “We had a young couple come to us that wasn’t able to get ahead of their student loans. They started out in one of the financial literacy trainings, and in a year and a half they paid off all their credit cards and consolidated their student debt, and they were able to develop a budget and stick to it – they are going to be Habitat Homeowners this year!”
And, although Habitat for Humanity is best known for its builds, Housatonic Habitat runs an array of additional initiatives and a brick-and-mortar thrift shop, called the ‘ReStore’, that’s really more like a discount warehouse, and available as a resource to the entire community. The ReStore is managed by dynamo, April Van der Noll, who takes great pride in the curated inventory and high-end merchandise. The shop sells new and gently used donated furniture and other household items and decor at a highly discounted sticker price. The ReStore also sells paint - at a fraction of the cost of a hardware store, and has tools, hardware, and other odds-and-ends that might be necessary for some home repair or fix-ups in the home or garden. “We even do pickups!” Kristen exclaims.
A combination of luxury and accessible… and this place is both! The ReStore is run by Housatonic Habitat for Humanity and powered completely by donation, so it garners furniture, finishings, decor, china, dishware, cabinetry, tools, appliances, and even the kitchen sink, from both typical and titanic homes around the region. Which means that there’s something for every shopper and every kind of home…and at a crazy good price! There’s even art and antiques. There will be a vintage and art sale happening on August 22, and then there’s a huge Christmas sale that takes place in November, and an outdoor furniture sale every spring. And, all of the proceeds go towards supporting a good cause!
Another of Housatonic Habitat’s major initiatives is the very popular Aging in Place. The purpose of this program is to help seniors age safely in their homes -by implementing small but effective changes to make the house functional based on unique needs and uses,” Kristen explains. “We recently helped a veteran in Danbury who’s only bathroom was just in terrible shape and actually unsafe given her physical condition, as the floor had rotted from water damage. Our volunteers re-did the bathroom making it safe and functional and actually made it look really nice too! Most of our critical home repairs are simple fixes like grab bars and raised toilets, and other things to prevent slip-and-falls, but we have also worked with community partners on larger projects, like the Jesse Lee Church in Ridgefield, to install wheelchair ramps. This past spring we sent out a teams of volunteers to help with spring clean-ups on over 25 homes owned by seniors in our community - 9 of whom were Veterans. ” Housatonic Habitat provides our Aging in Place services at no cost to low income seniors and veterans in our community. However, the average cost of an Aging in Place project is around $1,500, and most are implemented by skilled volunteers - with a plumber and electrician donating their time and expertise to the team. Some funding comes from ReStore profits, some from grants, and the rest from donations.
Some other Housatonic Habitat programs include Cars for Homes, a donation program for used cars that gets a nice big write-off for the donor and brings in a profit for Habitat, and a Green initiative that’s been recently kicked off, working in tandem with climate organizations to put solar panels and heat pumps in Habitat homes and homes of folks who need a bit more stabilization on their energy bills.
“We have a lot going on - and it’s a ton of work… but we help so many people every year!” Kristen smiles, “Right now Housatonic Habitat is working on a build on donated land in New Preston, where we are developing 8 free-standing homes on one street. We’ve already matched a few of the homes with perfect-fit homeowners, and are working through applications for remaining residences. One of the homes will be an ADA home, which we’re really excited about, and we’re looking for the perfect family with ADA requirements.
…We couldn’t do any of this without volunteers, or support from the community.”
Jade met her husband Nordio while volunteering with the Peace Crops in Timor-Leste, and together they moved to the United States in 2020, where they were living with Jade’s parents in Washington, Connecticut. Jade shares, “Nordio’s Green Card was taking a long time to be approved because of Covid, and we were living above my parents garage with our newborn son - needing to be close to my family for the support system and built-in childcare, so we could both work. We were doing everything we could to save money for a downpayment on a first home… but if it wasn’t for Habitat, we couldn’t get it done!” In January 2024, Housatonic Habitat was able to place the family in a neighborhood not far from Jade’s parents.
Erica Valentine-Brown was a single mother of two, working hard to make ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck in an expensive rental. Erica shares, “This home has given me and my family a sense of stability and security. We’ve been able to settle into our community and start building roots, which has been amazing for my kids. They’ve been able to make friends and participate in extracurricular activities, which has boosted their confidence and self-esteem. Additionally, owning a home has given me a sense of pride and accomplishment, which has been a game-changer for my mental health. I’ve also been able to start saving for college funds and other long-term goals. Overall, owning a Habitat home has helped me achieve my goal of providing a stable and secure environment for my family, and has given me a sense of pride and accomplishment that I never thought was possible.”
Synthia is a cancer survivor with 2 sons, who was stuck in a renting cycle after a divorce. Mounting medical bills set her back years in the timeline of being able to afford a forever home… but then Synthia came across some Habitat information while she was shopping for furniture at the ReStore. She’s now the proud owner of a Habitat home!