Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County

Mission: To put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in South Georgia. Since its founding in 1976, the housing organization has become a leading global nonprofit with affiliates working in local communities across all 50 states and more than 70 countries worldwide.

In 1995, the Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County affiliate became established as an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization. Its humble beginnings originated with a dedicated group of volunteers seeking to build one house for a local family in need. Incredibly, 30 years later, Habitat Oakland has served over 1,800 individuals and is on a trajectory of strategic growth that aims to reach 2,025 individuals by the end of 2025. The affiliate is well-positioned to achieve this milestone because of a firm conviction to be adaptive to escalating needs with a continuum of housing services that produce sizeable scale and impact.

Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County, commonly referred to as Habitat Oakland, is proud to deliver:

❖ Affordable Housing: The most well-known flagship offering is the homeownership program that enables people to move out of sub-standard housing and into newly built or renovated, energy-efficient, affordable homes. Homeowners must demonstrate need, have the ability to pay an affordable mortgage, and dedicate 300 hours of sweat equity.

❖ Community Development: Partnerships with municipalities to revitalize, stabilize, and improve local neighborhoods. Habitat Oakland is the developer and rehabilitates tax-foreclosed homes that are often blighted or slated for demolition.

❖ Neighborhood Revitalization: Community events that bring homeowners, volunteers, and sponsors together to complete exterior home repairs that improve safety and enhance curb appeal. Volunteer teams are deployed to homes within a focused neighborhood to fix porches, install fences, replace cracked concrete, clean gutters, and complete landscaping.

❖ Critical Home Repair: Home preservation services to help homeowners maintain a safe place to live. The construction team and third-party contractors complete repairs or upgrades focusing on safety, security and accessibility, energy efficiency, and weatherization to keep homes compliant with building codes.

❖ Habitat University: Financial counseling for prospective homebuyers or anyone seeking to improve their financial health. Through one-on-one sessions with a HUD-certified Housing and Financial Coach, individuals can improve their credit score, reduce debt, increase savings, and build a foundation for a healthy financial future.

❖ ReStores: Home improvement outlets and donation centers, located in Waterford and Farmington Hills, that sell new and gently used furniture, appliances, cabinets, paint, and other items at a fraction of the retail price. Sale proceeds are routed back into the affiliate to help sustain the vital programs listed above.