Habitat Helps Make This Thanksgiving Something Special for Five Families

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco dedicated five Habitat homes in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, which were presented to five worthy Habitat homeowners, on Saturday.

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco has built 39 homes in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park in the past 23 years and the homes that were dedicated are a part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) which helps to revitalize neighborhoods that have been destabilized by home foreclosure to create responsible homeownership opportunities for local working families.

"It is particularly powerful, at this time of Thanksgiving, that working families who have committed so much of themselves to build and create homeownership with Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, be given the keys to their new homes," Habitat executive director Phillip Kilbridge said.

The Peninsula is the number one most expensive housing market in the country, making it the least affordable, with median home sales above $600,000. Making it impossible for three quarters of Bay Area residents to afford to purchase a market rate home.

This is further compounded by the acute shortage of affordable housing which has forced low-income wage earners out of the market, causing long-distance commutes and increased traffic congestion as a result of workers living outside the county.

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco is offering a solution to the Peninsula's workforce housing needs and a foreclosure recovery strategy. The NRP program is designed to help stabilize areas that are at serious risk of decline due to a glut of abandoned, blighted homes in the community.

"It is a blessing to partner with the cities of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, with thousands of community volunteers and investors like Sand Hill Foundation, Cisco, Wells Fargo and Coldwell Banker to bring the American dream to life for and with so many," Kilbridge said.

Habitat has so far purchased 15 foreclosed homes in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park as part of the NRP program. Local families put in 500 hours of sweat equity alongside volunteers to rehabilitate the homes, which they purchase from Habitat with a zero-percent interest, zero-down mortgage.

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco partners has been helping working families and the community to build affordable ownership homes in Marin, San Francisco and the Peninsula since 1989.  For more information visit their website at www.habitatgsf.org.


Don't miss news that's important to you Subscribe to our daily newsletter.

|Like us on Facebook|Blog for us | Follow us on Twitter|