LEWISBURG – Habitat for Humanity continues to grow and will have a busy 2015, providing housing for people in need. Tina McDowell is executive director of the Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity Chapter, “We are not emergency housing and we don’t give houses away. We are proponents of safe, affordable and decent housing. We build homes, we sell them to families in need who qualify as homeowners and we also advocate for safe affordable housing in our communities.”
McDowell and her program director, Arion Moser, were recent guests on WKOK talking about the importance of Habitat for Humanity, “Typically if families are struggling with a safe affordable place to live, they are moving multiple times a year. When kids are in families that move less they do better in school. When they are in a home that is safe and comfortable, they do better in school.”
And McDowell explained how Habitat works for those looking for a home, “When you apply for the homeownership program at Habitat, it is similar to applying for a loan at a bank. We check people’s credit, debt to income ratio and everything that you would look at if you were applying for a mortgage somewhere else. The difference is that we are working with people with lower incomes.”
When it comes to homelessness, Moser said, “There aren’t enough shelter programs to meet the needs. In Snyder, Union and Northumberland Counties, those numbers have been decreasing. In Lycoming, they have been steady and actually increasing from 2008 to 2010.
One unique way they help provide more homes is through their ReStore, “Our ReStore is a retail outlet open to the public. We like to say it’s the thrift store of the Lowe’s and Home Depot world. We sell building components and furniture, household items and appliances. All of the profits go towards supporting our affiliate’s mission.”
You can listen to the entire interview with Arion Moser and Tina McDowell from WKOK Sunrise here. You can also find out more about Habitat for Humanity on their website at www.lycominghabitat.org. (Ali Stevens)