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Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco Developement is Good News for Affordable Housing in San Francisco
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans® sponsors one of the homes -- its third in San Francisco. REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 28, 2009 - While stalled financing creates an uncertain future for many local affordable housing developments, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco's new Whitney Young development is well under way and on schedule for completion in early 2010. Seven families have been selected for the Habitat program, each with a different story of hardship - and hope - on the path to a new life in their Habitat homes. Immigrants from China, Ethiopia, and Vietnam are among the candidate homeowners. They are employed in the service industry and home health care, as security guards, nursing assistants, and factory workers. Two families totaling seven people currently live together in a small apartment in San Francisco. One family of four with two teenage boys has lived in a studio apartment in the Tenderloin for the past 13 years. Another family of six has an impressive track record of higher education, including a grown son who recently graduated from UC Davis, another son who was accepted into the UCSF School of Medicine, and their mom who works as a child care supervisor while pursuing a graduate degree in early childhood education. Yet homeownership has eluded all seven families until now. Habitat Greater San Francisco will commemorate the Whitney Young development and its seven new partner families with a celebration event at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28th. The event will be held at the construction site at 52 Whitney Young Circle (cross street: Hudson) in San Francisco. View photos from celebration eventThe Whitney Young development is made possible through significant support from the city of San Francisco, including the donation of land from the Redevelopment Agency and community endorsement from the Bayview Hunters Point Project Area Committee (PAC), as well as grants and charitable giving from individuals, businesses, civic organizations, faith groups and private foundations. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which is sponsoring its third Habitat home in San Francisco since 2006, is the largest single contributor to the development, with an investment of more than $185,000. The new Thrivent home at Whitney Young Circle is the result of an alliance between Thrivent and Habitat for Humanity International called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, which has resulted in thousands of decent, affordable homes across the country. The Thrivent Builds alliance also engages volunteers-members of Thrivent Financial, members of area Lutheran churches and members of the community at large-to help build the Habitat homes. Thousands of volunteers will work alongside the partner families on the Whitney Young construction site this year, providing more than 90 percent of the labor needed to build the seven homes. "Being able to help provide a family with a home means so much to Thrivent members," said Austin Alldredge, President, San Francisco County Chapter Board, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. "Providing the financial investment as well as the volunteer muscle is important to them, and gives them a great way to support our community personally." The Habitat for Humanity approach encourages self-help by providing a "hand up-not a hand out." Habitat Greater San Francisco builds homes in partnership with families who meet three criteria: their ability to make monthly mortgage payments, their demonstrated need for safe, decent and affordable housing, and their willingness to partner with Habitat Greater San Francisco. Houses are sold to partner families at no profit and are financed with affordable, zero-interest mortgages. Partner families also invest considerable effort into their dreams, including up to 500 hours of "sweat equity" to help build their own homes as well as extensive homeownership education. In addition to Thrivent Financial, other significant supporters of the Whitney Young development include the American Bankers Association (ABA), Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Union Bank , Coldwell Banker and others. The ABA, through its Housing Partners Foundation, has donated $150,000 to sponsor a home at Whitney Young Circle (See related release at www.habitatgsf.org/newsroom) PG&E, through its Solar Habitat Program, provides photovoltaic solar power to every house that Habitat for Humanity builds in Northern and Central California, amounting to about $15,000 per home. The first-of-its-kind partnership brings solar renewable energy to families with limited incomes. The solar panels installed on Habitat-homes generate nearly 300kWh of clean energy from sunlight each month, saving each family approximately $500 a year on energy costs. To date, PG&E has provided solar installations to more than 30 homes in Habitat Greater San Francisco's territory. Along with Habitat Greater San Francisco representatives, officials from Thrivent Financial, ABA, PG&E and the city of San Francisco will speak during a short program at the celebration event. About Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International that partners with working families and the community to build affordable ownership homes in Marin, San Francisco and the Peninsula. Formed through the merger of Peninsula Habitat for Humanity and Habitat for Humanity San Francisco in August 2008, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco provides a unique solution to the local housing crisis and has enabled nearly 150 families to purchase affordable housing since 1989. Contact: Jennifer Doettling, Communications Director
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Construction is well underway and seven local families now begin the hard work of helping to build their own homes in the Bayview;