Habitat for Humanity starts building house in front of the State Capitol
With every nail that gets hammered in, the group says it's trying to send a message to lawmakers to prioritize affordable housing in Texas. Habitat for Humanity is building a home in front of the State Capitol in an effort to encourage lawmakers to prioritize affordable housing in Texas. The group holds a Capitol Build project each year, where volunteers begin building the walls for a home outside the Capitol. The project aims to send a message to lawmakers that they want more affordable housing options in the state. The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports that there are currently 906,885 extremely low-income renter households in Texas, but only 227,584 affordable and available rental homes. Despite the implementation of House Bill 1058 in January, Habitat will continue to advocate for additional legislation allowing more Texans to become homeowners.
Publicados : um mês atrás por Melia Masumoto no Politics Finance
With every nail that gets hammered in, the group says it's trying to send a message to lawmakers to prioritize affordable housing in Texas.
Each year, Habitat for Humanity holds a Capitol Build project, where they start constructing the walls for a home in front of the Capitol. It’s the group's way of sending a message to lawmakers that they want more affordable housing options in Texas.
“We think it’s important for the folks who work inside of these walls to understand that decent, affordable housing is an issue, and people need it,” said Shelia Petterson Harris, a Lubbock City Council member.
In January, House Bill 1058 went into effect, which offers low-income housing tax credits for certain housing developments. But Habitat for Humanity says it will still fight for additional legislation that allows more Texans to become homeowners.
Leaders with Habitat for Humanity say there’s now a large gap between price and affordability of homes in Texas. According to data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there are 906,885 extremely low-income renter households in Texas, but only 227,584 affordable and available rental homes.
Vanessa Lopez Spruell, who used to be homeless with her five grandchildren in Austin, is one of those householders.
“I would take my girls to the 7-Eleven here in Austin and wipe them down and all that, you know, the lady at 7-Eleven would give them a sandwich, but now it’s not like that no more, we got a home cooked meal,” said Spruell
Spruell and her family were the recipients of the Capitol Build home in 2022, and since then, all of their lives have completely turned around. All of Spruell's granddaughters, including one who is in Special Education, are honor roll students and already have ambitions for their futures at such a young age.
“They showed the girls that they can live, they can be comfortable, they can be entrepreneurs one day,” Spruell said.
“That’s what you do it for, I mean, when they finally get the keys to move into their own house, that’s really the whole point,” said Trad Clements, a staff member with Habitat for Humanity. “It makes a whole total difference for them, their children and the whole community.”
On Wednesday, volunteers put together 55 walls, which will now be transported to Lubbock. In six-to-eight months, a family will be walking through the doors of their new home and new life.
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