• Through shelter, we empower

    Our Impact

Our Impact

At Asheville Habitat, we have always sought to understand and highlight the many benefits of affordable homeownership. A recent survey of 264 households asked over sixty questions about their lives before and after Habitat homeownership. Topics included financial and physical health, educational experiences, and community and social engagement. Our hope was to better understand the household-level impact of forty years of work on affordable housing in Buncombe County. See the results in this Impact Report and know that your investment, service, and voice matters.

62,708

hours of volunteer service in 2023

2851

tons of usable material diverted from landfills in 2023

nearly 2100

adults and children served since 1983

1182

donors gave generously in 2023

1943

volunteers in 2022

$390755

paid in property taxes by Habitat homeowners in 2022

Success Stories

Angels Square

Stability

“We’re excited to have a home to finally start living, instead of just surviving,” Danyelle said.
Danyelle and Logan Angel are both born and raised Ashevillians, and they first met when they were children. Logan earns a fair wage as a medical assistant at the VA Medical Center, but affordable rentals in Asheville are far and few between. For seven years the couple tried to buy a home on the traditional market, but couldn’t compete in Asheville’s hot housing market. Craving a stable place to set down roots for their three children, Danyelle and Logan found Habitat. The Angel’s purchased a 4- bedroom, 2-bathroom single family home in a neighborhood of 12 homes in Candler, on Habitat’s Curry Court. Logan and Danyelle will be able to provide their children with a safe neighborhood, while having the peace of mind and stability that affordable homeownership will offer.

Belinda 8.18.20 002 Copy

Affordability

“It would mean so much to me to own a Habitat home. To pay a mortgage instead of renting, and having a place to grow old in.”

~from Belinda Finley’s application letter

When Belinda began working as a Systems Courier for Mission Hospital in 1999, her modest one-bedroom apartment was adequate for her and her 2-year old son. Making the most of the space, Belinda turned a converted carport into a makeshift second bedroom, using a sheet for a door.

Through the years, Belinda watched her electric bill increase exponentially. When the air turns crisp and the leaves turn red, she prepares for the worst, as fall marks the return of the $400/month electric bill.

As a Habitat homeowner, Belinda said good-bye to the exorbitant electric bill, and hello to a bedroom with a door! Belinda’s 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom townhome in Candler is certified energy-efficient through System Vision. Their low-cost guarantee means that her heating and cooling cost will not exceed $35/month. Belinda now has the stability of an affordable mortgage and heating and cooling cost.

Carolyn in her new living room

Safety

Carolyn knew it was time to do something about her floor when she had to move heavy furniture off of it and avoid walking on it altogether. Fearful she would fall through and injure herself, she turned to Asheville Habitat’s Home Repair program. She was no stranger to Habitat because Carolyn served as a ReStore volunteer for four years.

Carolyn’s family home was built in the 1940s, and like many older homes, water damage is a problem. Water damage caused the floor and wall to rot, creating an unsafe living situation.

The Home Repair team rebuilt the 16′ x 14′ section of flooring system in the living room where the framing was failing from water damage. This included removing the existing flooring and subflooring, installing new floor framing and support posts, and installing subflooring. The team also repaired exterior walls, bathroom plumbing and repaired the bathroom floor.

Now with stable flooring, Carolyn feels safe knowing that she can walk across her floor and put furniture on it without fear of injury.

Where we build – locally

Asheville Habitat has built and repaired homes across Buncombe County since 1983. See map below.

Where we build – globally

We have tithed more than $1 Million to Habitats in other areas of the world, in support of the global mission! In addition to sending tithe dollars, we coordinate Global Village (GV) Builds to work with Habitat affiliates overseas. Asheville Habitat has also supported Habitat for Humanity’s disaster relief efforts, domestically and internationally. Our current global engagement partners are below.

Caap Family

Guatemala

Habitat Guatemala is a long-time partner and we have organized multiple Global Village trips there over the years. Habitat’s work in Guatemala includes new house construction, housing improvements, smokeless stoves, sanitary latrines, water filters, and more. Meet some of the families who have partnered with Habitat Guatemala to improve their living situation.

Brito Family – smokeless stove

Colop family – new home

Caac family (photo above) – home improvement; repairs needed due to storms Eta & Iota

Ovg

Orphans & Vulnerable Groups

By directing some of our tithe to this special Habitat for Humanity fund, we are able to support some of the world’s neediest people including the Rishipara communities in Bangladesh and families with children with Microcephaly in Brazil. Learn more about this important work in The Orphans and Vulnerable Groups Fund FY 2021 report.

Communal Water Tap

Ethiopia

Habitat Ethiopia is one of our newer global engagement partners. We took a Global Village team to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February 2020, just before the global pandemic halted all travel. In addition to building and repairing homes for vulnerable populations, Habitat in Ethiopia has an extensive and much needed WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) program. For example, Habitat Ethiopia works to create access to potable water for women and children who travel up to 3 hour to fetch water for their families (photo above).

Read a few family stories from Ethiopia.

Read their FY21 Annual Report.

Habitat Haiti

Haiti

Habitat Haiti is our newest global engagement partner. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with about 6 out of 10 people living on less than US$2 per day. Most Haitians have been locked in a cycle of poverty for generations due to political instability, food shortages, unemployment, natural disasters, inadequate public services, lack of basic infrastructure and– a longstanding lack of adequate, affordable housing. Habitat for Humanity Haiti has been working to help families through a variety of housing, settlement and livelihood programs and has served more than 60,000 families since 1984.

Celebrating 40 Years

To celebrate and honor three Habitat affiliates that are, like Asheville Habitat, celebrating 40 year anniversaries, we tithed to Kenya, Uganda and India. These additional tithe funds were made possible by a large gift we received from philanthropist Mackenzie Scott.

Ukraine Emergency Response

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Habitat for Humanity teams have been on the ground in neighboring countries responding to the refugee crisis. We are grateful to all the ReStore shoppers who chose to Round Up at the registers to help Ukraine refugees and the generous donors who responded to our appeal for support. Together, we raised $13,000+. Watch this video to see how your gifts are being used by Habitat for Humanity to help displaced families with shelter and other emergency needs.

Benefits of Homeownership

Homeownership has been proven to increase graduation rates, improve children’s good health, and grow families’ net wealth as well as decrease behavioral problems in children and reduce asthma. Learn more about the benefits of homeownership.

Annual Report & Financials

The Habitat business model is one of financial sustainability. Thanks to significant volunteer support, construction costs are kept low and Habitat is able to sell new houses to qualified families at no-profit. Homeowners pay an affordable mortgage and that revenue goes right back into our building program budget. Mortgage payments, along with proceeds from ReStore sales, account for approximately 20-25% of the revenue we need to acquire and develop land, build new houses, and repair existing homes. We also depend on the generosity of individuals, businesses, faith communities, foundations and government funding sources to successfully carry out our capital-intensive work.