Habitat MidOhio Monthly Musing
To sign up to receive your copy of the Monthly Musing straight to your email inbox, click here.
CEO Corner
In previous issues of the Musings, I shared that one of our objectives going forward was that of incorporating shared-roof construction into our product mix. The decision to work toward that goal was in response to Habitat MidOhio receiving the substantial MacKenzie Scott gift last year, and the Board – along with staff – then adjusted our Strategic Plan. Specifically, this collective effort focused on a revision to that plan that will allow our affiliate to sustainably serve 200 families a year by the end of FY27.
Reaching that goal required assessing our ability to grow our programs for home repair, new homeownership opportunities, and bringing on line the new Community Development Finance Institution to be known as the Habitat Capital Resource Corporation. This entity is anticipated to provide foreclosure-prevention aid for non-Habitat families, credit-counseling services, and market-rate mortgages for any family in the 80-120% Area Median Income (AMI) range looking to purchase a home, not just those who qualify for a Habitat home. Of note is that our Habitat homeownership opportunities are offered to those families in the 30-60% AMI range. Taken together, all are all touchpoints that will allow your affiliate to reach that 200 families served milestone in FY27.
So, we will still be building single-family homes, and the shared-roof concept just becomes another option for those families for those who otherwise would not be served in our community. And economic and other realities dictate we move in this direction. First, it is more economical to construct multiple homes simultaneously. Second, land is becoming scarcer, so moving toward building two homes in, say, a double configuration on one lot stretches this valuable resource and helps with the environmental footprint. There are additional benefits as well, such as being able to access different types of funding by working with new partners. To better serve a broader subset of our community, we feel this concept would be ideal for multigenerational families who wish to live under the same roof but still desire to have their separate space. Finally, shared-roof construction allows us to offer affordable housing options to people and families who don’t need or necessarily want a single-family house.
Adding shared-roof, townhouse-type structures to our mix represents a big change for our affiliate, but an exciting one, that handled correctly will allow us to significantly “up our game.” In making this move, it is paramount that we take our time, ask the right questions, elicit advice from those who are already in this space, all of which will ensure we minimize any potential pitfalls.
How have we done that? Our first step in this process was to have members of our team visit other large, metropolitan Habitat affiliates that are up to ten years ahead of us regarding shared-roof options. These are successful organizations that have been doing such work, and we learned valuable lessons without having to stumble ourselves on the way to develop competency in the space. In addition, we’re engaging government officials and other developers for advice and counsel. Regarding the latter, we have begun having conversations with a major shared-roof developer that is interested in teaming with us to construct what would be a 20-unit complex, complete with communal amenities that would, in total, be a very attractive, development model that could be scaled and replicated.
From a previous Musing, I shared that we were about to close on four lots in Newark on New Haven Court. Unfortunately, the results of soil borings determined that building four duplex units for what would have been eight Habitat partner families would not be suitable. Undeterred, we continue looking for just the right property that will allow us to try our hand at this concept. We are actively working with the Board and area realtors to help identify appropriate parcels of land that would be suitable.
I hope you share with us the excitement for the prospect of serving many more families in the years to come, while employing calculated change to do so. As the author Robin Sharma has aptly stated, “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and glorious in the end.” We look forward to that final stage!
Homeowner Services
Commencement of Eckstine Home Friday, February 10
We joined our partners Discover and the City of Newark to kickoff construction of the Eckstine family's new home in Newark. We are excited to kick off our builds in Newark and are always grateful for the support of the community.
Wall-Raising of Lee Home Saturday, February 18
We celebrated the start of the Lee family home with longtime sponsors Northwest Adopt-A-House and Mifflin Presbyterian Church. Surrounded by many friends and family, the future homeowner “raised the walls” and kicked off her journey to homeownership. This is the 31st home that the NWAAH group has sponsored and the 16th home for Mifflin Presbyterian. Thank you to these two groups for the commitment of volunteer hours and financial support!
Dedication of Martinez Rico Home Tuesday, February 28
Thank you to Nationwide for joining us today to dedicate a home for the Martinez Rico family! This year marks the 20th year Nationwide has partnered with Habitat MidOhio and we are so thankful for their continued sponsorship and volunteer support!
Homeowner Applications will be available March 13-24th, 2023.
To get an application you can:
- Call our intake line at 614-484-1966 to request one to be mailed or emailed
- Click here to print one off
- Stop by in person to pick one up. Available at: Family & Program Center (6665 Busch Blvd., Columbus, Ohio 43229) and Newark Restore (1660 N 21st Street, Newark, Ohio 43055)
Applications are all due back by April 14th no exceptions.
Construction
Bringing New Life Back To A House To Make It A Home
As many people know here at HFHMO we not only build new homes to provide homeownership opportunities for deserving families—we also regularly take on major renovation projects in order to bring new life back to previously vacant houses. We have a couple of these projects slated for this year and on a recent Saturday morning we held a commencement ceremony for the beginning of one of these exciting projects with Deborah, the partner family. She had tears of joy as she spoke to us and a dedicated crew of AmeriCorps Alumni there to pitch in.
Deborah and many Habitat AmeriCorps alumni celebrating the start of renovation.
It takes a bit of vision and a lot of faith in the process for families to see and understand how a house that appears in rough shape can come together to be the home of their dreams! These attributes are exactly what Deborah possesses as she dives into this process to work alongside us on the renovation of what will soon be her beautiful home. In the days and weeks ahead, she will help with demolition, replacement windows, new siding, flooring, painting and installation of cabinets and many other new finishes that she selected.
The house will have construction activities ongoing through the spring and early summer thanks to the dedication of our great volunteers. We are excited to see the transformation of this home and the many opportunities it brings to Deborah and her family!
ReStore
Join us in welcoming the newest member of the ReStore team, Josh Cobbs, VP of Retail Operations!
"I am from a small town, Danville, VA and attended Lynchburg College, graduating with a sports medicine degree. While there I played basketball, and most importantly met my wife Becky. We both attended graduate programs, I earned my Master’s from Old Dominion University in Education & Exercise Science and Becky earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Virginia Commonwealth University. We lived in Va Beach, VA after graduating for 5 years, then Richmond, VA for 2 years before relocating to OH in 2015. We have been married for 15 years and have 3 kids-Adalyn-12, William-10, and Henry-8. We are a very active family and when not working you can find me coaching any of my 3 kids, hiking local/national parks, attending sporting events and keeping our kiddos moving!
Prior to HFHMO, I worked for Dick’s Sporting Goods for 18 years, operating several different locations and VA and OH, before taking over the Columbus Market as District Manager in 2017. I left Dick’s in 2021 to join Meijer as a Director and worked there for just over a year. What excites me the most about leading is the opportunity to develop and empower people to achieve their goals and accomplish things they didn’t believe were possible. I’m excited to join a team with a strong community purpose and lead our chain of stores to help further our mission."
April is always a busy month at the MidOhio ReStores, as many communities hold donation drives and Earth Day events benefitting the ReStores. We are seeking volunteers to assist with these events! Click the link below to learn more and sign up!
Volunteer Services
We are gearing up for Playhouse “Blitz Season” and are seeking more Playhouse Captains! Playhouse Captains coordinate groups of 8-10 volunteers in assembling and painting playhouses. Having volunteer captains allow us to engage more groups and lead playhouse builds more effectively. We will be holding training sessions in March and April for new captains.
Celebrating 21 years of AmeriCorps Service at Habitat MidOhio during National AmeriCorps Week
March 12-18, 2023
155 AmeriCorps members have served at our affiliate over the past 21 years through AmeriCorps National/State, VISTA, and NCCC committing to over 175,000 hours of service and impacting over 1,000 families through homeownership, home repair, and Rock the Block activities! Their efforts combined with local volunteers have resulted in many growth areas in our affiliate including: families served; volunteers recruited and managed; homes built, rehabbed and repaired; programs started and strengthened; resources gathered; ReStores opened; and so much more!
We are so grateful for the 155 AmeriCorps members who chose to serve with Habitat! Thank you for your service!
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
March is Women’s History Month, National Women in Construction Week and International Women’s Day!
Women in construction is a growing industry and we are doing our part to help advance this long overdue movement. Here at Habitat MidOhio we are proud to have our 16th Women Build house under construction!
Women's History Month is a celebration of women's contributions to history, culture and society and has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since 1987.
International Women's Day is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8. Women across the world use this day to come together to celebrate and rally for equal treatment and representation. Why do we celebrate women's day on March 8? Against the backdrop of the war, women in Russia again chose to protest and strike for "Bread and Peace" on the last Sunday in February (which fell on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar). Four days later, the Czar abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.
Resource Development
Habitat MidOhio is excited to hold its second Playhouse Project Faith Blitz Build, hosted by One Church on Saturday, April 22, 2023!
Participating faith groups and organizations will experience a unique team building activity, and funds raised will help support the mission of Habitat MidOhio while blessing a local family with a safe place to play.
