Act now: Tell Congress you support housing stability and Habitat during COVID-19 pandemic  With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, families are facing both a public health and an economic crisis. The longer it goes on, the more this pandemic also becomes a housing emergency.
We need you to add your voice now to tell Congress to act for housing stability. More than 18 million families in the U.S. pay more than half of their income on housing, leaving little or no margin for lost income or increased health costs. Many of those families are facing additional economic hardship from lost wages or layoffs and are now confronted with impossible choices between trying to pay their rent or mortgage and life’s other essentials. Even before the pandemic, far too many families were already facing these circumstances. These are the families with whom we partner. They are going to need our hand up now more than ever. Congress needs to act to support these families. It also needs to support nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity that serve our communities. Congress is considering additional economic relief legislation, and Habitat is hard at work leading efforts to provide support for our homeowners and other low-income families financially impacted by the pandemic. We’re also fighting for financial support for Habitat organizations and other nonprofits, whose work will be so vitally important as we recover from this pandemic. The CARES Act included some measures to provide economic relief for families and businesses, but Congress needs to go further to support families struggling to afford life’s essentials and nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity that serve our communities. Join us in calling on members of Congress to prioritize the needs of low-income families and the organizations that work hard to serve them. Local restaurants help Flower City Habitat for Humanity complete 5 new homesThank you again to Amiel's the Original Submarine, Benuccis Restaurant, and Starbucks for helping keep our construction team energized as we put the finishing touches on our Holworthy Street new builds! We have five houses that are now completed or wrapping up and we're working with each family on an individual plan regarding safety, logistics, and timing of move-ins. Check out the photos below and coverage by 13-WHAM. Today is a day where far too many are struggling to make rent payments, often for substandard housing. We know how big the task is before us, but we are also fortunate to share some good news today. Today is move-in day for Rochester's newest Habitat homebuyers; with several more expected to be ready in the next few weeks! Both our construction and family services teams continue to practice maximum social distancing and we are working with each family on an individual plan regarding safety, logistics, and timing of move-ins. This first family has asked for some privacy, so we are respecting that, but we can share that they are excited to now know that "staying home" means the safety, security, and stability that we all deserve. The kitchen appliances were delivered just after these photos were taken and of course we'll be back to help with landscaping when it's safe for volunteer groups again. This home, at 96 Holworthy Street, was made possible by generous donations from Thrivent Financial and the Harvest Home Coalition. THANK YOU! We miss seeing all of our supporters in person, but hope you will join us in saying "Welcome home!" to Rochester's newest Habitat homebuyers! Habitat partner families pay lower mortgage payments (for a quality home that they own), than they were paying in rent for substandard housing. That swing of often saving hundreds of dollars every month and starting to build equity has always been a critical piece of Habitat for Humanity's home-ownership program. Where for many “stay at home” means figuring out logistics and adjusting mindsets, for others it only exacerbates the conditions with which they have struggled for so long. Affordable and stable housing continues to be a foundation for us all to build our lives on, and as long as we are able to do so safely, we will continue to build. Construction has been deemed essential by New York State, so our construction is continuing with staff only (no volunteers) and maximum health and safety precautions. Our construction supervisors are working with maximum social distancing (usually on different houses) to finish five nearly-complete new builds and two remodels. On Tuesday we worked on driveways on the Holworthy Street new builds and finishing touches on an Orange Street remodel. These homes are near completion and we will be working with each family on an individual plan regarding safety, logistics, and timing of move-ins. Habitat affiliates around the world (including us) are working with local officials to donate our excess stock of protective masks and goggles to local hospitals. We are in this together. ❤️ Broad-view operational status[Updated Oct 21, 2020 - Most recent updates in bold]
Flower City Habitat for Humanity family and friends, Below is a brief "status of operations" by department. A more detailed letter from our CEO is also available here (sent on May 11). Office & Family Services:
Construction:
Events, Fundraising, & Non-Construction Volunteering:
ReStore:
Where there was once five empty lots, there are now five nearly completed homes! Five home dedication ceremonies have been scheduled:
On the volunteering side, there is still some work left to do and we have opened several house sponsor and public volunteer shifts leading up to the dedications. Take a look at the whiteboard to see what to expect and email us if you have any questions! Public construction shifts are now open through March 12th on our public volunteer calendar (new dates open each week). For group reservations, head to the group volunteering page. House sponsor shifts are now open through March 12th. Go to our home page, then look for your house for additional reserved volunteer shifts. We are approaching the finish of the five new builds, so there will be limited volunteer opportunities on these specific houses beyond March 12th, but we are reaching out to sponsors and homebuyers now to start confirming dedication dates! Check out the whiteboard for the expected work this week on each house:  Public construction shifts are now open through March 6th on our public volunteer calendar (new dates open each week). For group reservations, head to the group volunteering page. House sponsor shifts are now open through March 12th. Go to our home page, then look for your house for additional reserved volunteer shifts. We are approaching the finish of the five new builds, so there will be limited volunteer opportunities on these specific houses beyond March 12th, but we are reaching out to sponsors and homebuyers now to start confirming dedication dates! Check out the whiteboard for the expected work this week on each house:  |
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