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Habitat for Humanity partners with God’s families in need to build homes for those families and give them hope for a brighter future.  We learn of families who need homes from social service activities, schools, hospital, and families who take the first step to call.   Eligibility for a Habitat for Humanity home is defined as follows:

a.  The family’s annual income is less than 80% of the poverty level but sufficient to be able to make the monthly house payment, which is generally less than $300 per month (as of 2007).   The targeted income level is variable depending on the size of the family.

b.  The family is living in substandard housing, which may mean:

• A home with structural or health issues.
• A home that is overcrowded.
• A home that has safety or security issues.
• A home that is unable to attend to a specific handicap.

Every situation is unique.  If you think you might qualify, please feel free to apply.   Our Family Selection Committee will contact you to make a final determination.  Each application will be carefully studied.  If it is incomplete, we will accept it and our Selection Committee representative contact you to help fill in the blanks.

The Family Selection Committee will screen all applications and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors on tentative approval of the partnership.  First, the Board of Directors will make a tentative approval, meaning that the family has been favorably considered and should begin to work its first 50 hours of Sweat Equity on any home that is under construction, or other designated project.

After the partner family has completed their first 50 hour of Sweat Equity, their name will be again submitted to the Board of Directors for final approval.  When approved, the family will be notified that they should begin working on the remainder of their requirements.

Whether in the Shelby County area, the United States, or in more than 100 other countries around the world, Habitat for Humanity houses are built according to the same guiding principles. Habitat houses are:

• Simple. Habitat houses are modestly sized—large enough for the homeowner family's needs, but small enough to keep construction and maintenance costs to a minimum.
• Decent. Habitat uses quality, locally available building materials. Trained staff and volunteers supervise Habitat house construction and educate volunteers and partner families.
• Affordable. The labor of volunteers and partner families, efficient building methods, modest house sizes, and a no-profit, no-interest loan make it affordable for low-income people to purchase the home upon completion.

Each house built by Habitat-Shelby County has a living room, an appropriate number of bedrooms (allowing for two same-sex children in each), kitchen/dining area, one bathroom, central heating. Neither garages nor carports are provided unless required by municipal code. Homes are built in partnership with an approved family, so the house construction does not begin until the family is ready, and it is built according to their needs (i.e. size, accessibility, etc.)