Habitat's Goal: Eliminating Poverty Housing Worldwide
Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has been working to achieve its goal of eliminating poverty housing worldwide. In the United States, Habitat is among the top 10 home builders in the nation. It is committed to building decent houses in decent communities for God's people in need.

A Hand Up, Not A Handout
Habitat is not a giveaway program. It is a joint venture between community and homeowner. Houses are sold to families with mortgages for 20 years. Each homeowner pays a no-interest monthly mortgage payment to Habitat, and those funds are put back into a Fund for Humanity that supports the construction of more houses.

Sweat Equity
Each homeowner family is required to invest 200-400 sweat equity hours into the construction of their own house and other Habitat projects. This reduces the cost of the houses and increases the pride of ownership among family members.

Family Selection
To qualify for a Habitat house, a family must not be able to obtain a regular bank mortgage. They must have a stable income enabling them to pay for their new house. A family selection committee qualifies homeowners based on their need for adequate shelter, their willingness to become partners and invest in the sweat equity, and their ability to pay for the house through the mortgage. CLICK HERE to go to the income guidelines to qualify for a Habitat house.

Applications to become a Habitat homeowner are only provided at orientation meetings, which are held on an individual basis. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Habitat homeowner, please contact Lea Anne Schmidgall, Executive Director at lea@habitatpeoria.org.

Habitat for Humanity follows a non-discrimination policy for family selection.