Minute for Mission

Habitat for Humanity

by Rick Greene

MISSION GRANTS TEAM MEMBER

Habitat for Humanity History

Seeking to put God’s love into action, the idea for Habitat for Humanity was first voiced at Koinonia Farm, a Christian farming community founded in 1942 in rural southwest Georgia to be a “demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God.”

In 1965, Millard Fuller, an entrepreneur and attorney, and his wife Linda made their way to Koinonia Farm (Christian farming community founded in 1942) in rural southwest Georgia. Although a self-made millionaire by age 29, Millard’s health and marriage had begun to crumble. To save their marriage, the Fullers decided to begin anew and sold all that they owned, giving their money to the poor. They landed at Koinonia Farm where they began soaking up the teachings of farmer, theologian, and community founder Clarence Jordan.

In time, Jordan and Fuller launched a program of “partnership housing,” building simple houses in partnership with rural neighbors who were too poor to qualify for conventional home loans. The first house was dedicated in 1969 and others soon followed. In 1973, the Fullers took the concept of partnership housing to Africa. Within a few years, simple concrete-block homes were replacing unhealthy mud-and-thatch homes. Millard Fuller then had the bold idea that if partnership housing could improve lives in Georgia and Zaire, why not the rest of the world?

In 1976, the Fullers returned to the United States and launched Habitat for Humanity International. By the organization’s 25th anniversary in 2001, tens of thousands of people were volunteering with Habitat and more than 500,000 people were living in Habitat homes worldwide. Mr. Fuller lived to see the organization build its 300,000th home in December 2008, but he passed away unexpectedly in February 2009.Habitat affiliates work locally in communities around the world to select and support homeowners, organize volunteers, and coordinate house building. 

Housing in Central Ohio

The need for affordable housing is great in Central Ohio. But the reasons why the shortfall exists are many, and complex.

Prior to the 1930’s, purchasing a home through a loan was fraught with risk for the home buyer. A standardized loan product didn’t exist to ensure everyone was treated fairly when attempting to purchase a home. In the 1930’s the Federal Government began offering a federally backed 30-year mortgage loan which began to standardize the mortgage loan industry and offered protections to some home buyers. In order to protect the government’s investments in this program, a rating system was established to help guide banks on which loans would be the least amount of risk. Government raters were sent around the country giving each neighborhood a rating of green, blue, yellow, or red. Homes in areas that were rated green or blue were considered safe investments, and mortgages in those neighborhoods would be federally backed. Homes in areas rated yellow or red were not considered good investments and thus would not have federal backing. This process became known as redlining.

The problem with redlining was that the ratings were not based on the age and quality of the housing stock, nor on the particular location, but the predominant factors which affected rating were the racial and ethnic mix of the neighborhood, along with the economic condition.

Predominantly white, homogenous neighborhoods with higher-income residents received the highest rating, with predominantly African American and lower-income neighborhoods receiving the lowest rating. Over the next 30 years, while this program was in force, the federal government invested billions of dollars into green and blue neighborhoods, while driving disinvestment in yellow and red neighborhoods. By 1966, homes in redlined neighborhoods were worth less than half on average of those in green neighborhoods.

A simple look at a redlining map from the 1930’s shows that many of the neighborhoods which struggle with poverty, poor quality housing stock, and higher rates of foreclosure were neighborhoods that were redlined. The work Habitat for Humanity does to rebuild housing in these neighborhoods doesn’t just provide a safe and decent home for a new family, they serve as an investment into a community that is still reaping the devastating effects of disinvestment from over 90 years ago.

Habitat for Humanity—MidOhio

Habitat for Humanity – MidOhio brings people together to inspire hope build homes, empower families, and develop communities. It is committed to providing opportunities for central Ohio families to live in homes that are safe, decent, and affordable. Through its Neighborhood Revitalization efforts and partnership with donors, volunteers, and the community, this organization offers two main programs to accomplish this goal: 1, the homeownership program for first-time homeowners, and 2, the home repair program for current homeowners. This organization has built over 400 homes in a multi-county effort in this area of Ohio.

In addition to the primary goals, Habitat MidOhio ReStores has played an important role in the effort to combat the affordable housing challenge in central Ohio. Donations are sold to the general public and the proceeds help to offset most of Habitat MidOhio’s administrative costs — so cash contributions go directly toward building homes and revitalizing communities. Also, the Playhouse Project is a unique opportunity that allows Habitat MidOhio to partner with sponsors to build a playhouse for a local family—providing children with a safe place to play and imagine what home means to them.

First Community Church and Habitat for Humanity—MidOhio

First Community Church was one of the first churches to participate with Habitat for Humanity in Central Ohio, beginning in 1987. There are now 10 churches (primarily in Northwest Franklin County) involved in the area. First Community itself has been involved with 37 houses,

Reflected by the program motto, “Hand up, not hand out,” homeowners are required to help with sweat equity on their own house, as well as the homes of others. The homeowner also has to obtain and pay a mortgage upon possession. Ninety-five percent of participants remain in their homes and over 100 have successfully paid off mortgages over the years.

First Community has completed the work on its thirty-seventh house. The Badhi Family (Mom and two boys) are the proud owners of a new home that they helped to build in the Linden area. We can be very proud of the accomplishment as we have been involved with Habitat for Humanity from the very first house that they built in the Columbus area. The financial and volunteer contributions to this work cannot be overstated. Ned Timmons is the current representative at First Community.

Good and wise stewardship of all funds is an integral part of Habitat for Humanity. Donations are effectively used to further the mission of inspiring hope, building homes, empowering families, and developing communities.

If you would like more information about First Community Church, its other Mission programs, or are interested in joining the Mission Teams, please email us at mission@fcchurch.com.

Refugee Ministry Update

by Shirley Barney

REFUGEE MINISTRY TEAM LEAD

Family Updates

• One of the families lease ends at the end of June. The team has been diligently working on finding a new apartment and getting them ready to move.
• The team continues to support by providing transportation to appointments, grocery and food pantry trips, and ESL (English as a Second Language) assistance.

Help Wanted

We are looking for volunteers to help refugee families resettle to life in Columbus, by helping with the following:

• Gather household items (dishes, utensils, etc.)
• Stocking their pantry
• Clothing collection
• Apartment Setup
• Airport welcome
• Hot welcome meal
• Apartment move in
• Transportation assistance

If you are interested in volunteering or donating the items needed, please contact Shirley Barney. 

Refugee Team in Worship

The Refugee Ministry was well-represented in worship on Sunday, June 23, as pictured below. Guest speaker and ministry ream leader, Shirley Barney (left), gave the congregation a short history of the team's work, then introduced the team members, partners, and recently-resettled families present in worship!

Shirley reminded us that the team runs entirely on the financial support of our community. To donate online, click here, Choose "Mission Designated Funds" and "Refugee Ministry" from the drop-down menus.

Deep Griha Society

General Program Updates: Healthy Aging

The following is reprinted with permission from the June 2024 Edition of the DGS-USA Newsletter. Click the buttons on the right to view the entire newsletter or sign up for the email list.

The Senior Citizen Program is focused on helping participants get their documentation in order to access various Government services. The ongoing activities have continued through the quarter, here is a snapshot of numbers reached:

• Total elderly – 4,252
• Total home visit - 6,163
• Total follow up visit – 5,749
• Total community meetings - 90 
• Total elderly attended – 1,365
• Non elderly attended - 656
• Total home health checkup – 1,176
• Total eye checkup camps – 19
• Total elderly at the camp – 469
• Total eye surgery – 74
• Total virtual OPD conducted – 9
• Total elderly attended – 164
• Total physical OPD conducted - 51
• Total elderly attended - 1,012 

Highlights being festival celebrations, Women’s Day celebrations, meditation session with grocery distribution, sound healing session by the Inner Wheel club along with grocery and diaper distribution.

What hasn’t changed since the last report is - home visits, regular general clinics, access to specialists in healthcare, access to physiotherapy, operations when needed, medicine among other facilities. Over and above the activities in collaboration with other NGOs, at Ramtekdi and Tadiwala road, we provide daily meals to 100 people. We have daily yoga classes running at the Ramtekdi Center, and weekly classes at the Tadiwala road center. We have Dance therapy/Movement classes for all once a week at both the centers.

We had a group of Ajjis and Ajobas (grandparents) visit City of Child again this quarter. The sheer joy shared by both groups means that this activity will be repeated quite regularly.

Monday Night Meals

by Amy Caskie

DIRECTOR OF MISSIONS



New members, Theresa and Randy Leite, recently volunteered to lead our Third Monday Team serving dinner at Friends of the Homeless. We are grateful for their enthusiasm and effort. While the Leites are a great addition to the overall team, we are still looking for volunteers. We need cooks on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, and servers on the fourth Monday. If you're interested in joining an existing team, please contact Pat Porterfield.