HABITAT FOR Humanity, the housing assistance program made famous by Jimmy Carter, has a name recognition that few other charitable endeavors can match. Habitat’s national fame presents a paradox – the backbone of the organization is the smaller, local advocacy centers. These are lesser known, but they’re the real strength of Habitat for Humanity.
Matt Sheffield is Habitat for Humanity’s chief development officer in Bowling Green. Habitat has been in Bowling Green for 34 years. Its mission is to fight for affordable housing and home ownership solutions. Sheffield said the goal is to continue to build and partner with families on achieving and sustaining home ownership.
That goal is a herculean task. And it’s a task that has gotten progressively more difficult. Bowling Green was struck with tornadoes in 2021 in which a crucial 400 units of housing were lost or critically damaged. Compounding the impact of storm damage, subsequent changes in the rental landscape have further increased the regional cost burden of simply having a place to call home. Investment real estate moved in. Investors from all across the country bought up properties in Bowling Green and made offers to local owners that they couldn’t refuse. Some of these properties had long-term tenants who now had to live elsewhere. Rents went up. This, unfortunately, is a national pattern. High, ever-increasing rents, which used to be a difficulty faced by city-dwellers, is now a fact of life in much of rural and small-town America.
The difficulties have multiplied. Sheffield explains that it used to be relatively easy to build a house and put a family in it. There were a handful of forms and processes. Now, the forms and processes — from the lending standpoint — “are layers over layers of complexity.”
From a cost standpoint, what it costs Habitat to build a house — even as recently as 2017 and 2018 — compared to now is drastically more expensive. And the rent hikes put an extra stressor on affordability.
Bowling Green is experiencing welcomed economic development, which means an influx of people into the area — but not enough affordable housing.
Habitat’s constituency in Bowling Green consists of people who need a partner or support in buying their first home. They’ve rented in the past, but now they know they want to be in the area for five or 10 years and know it makes sense to purchase.
Unique to Bowling Green, one in seven residents of the area are non-native born, many of whom have come out of crisis situations. And so there is a wide swath of people in Bowling Green — both lifelong residents and people from all over the world — who wish to buy a home but may not be in a position to walk into a bank and get a traditional loan.
“They need help. Our rate historically has been no to low interest — a significant break compared to standard rates. Our constituency is folks in the area who have a housing need, whether it’s substandard housing or it’s become unaffordable — but they want to be here. They want to live here. They want to have a home here,” Sheffield explained.
The numbers tell the tale. Twenty-five years ago, Habitat for Humanity in Bowling Green built around a house a year. That number gradually increased to around three houses a year. This year, Habitat will be constructing around 11. Those figures will certainly increase as the housing crisis continues.
Habitat is also involved with homelessness and housing-adjacent issues, but Sheffield stressed that Habitat does not offer temporary or immediate housing solutions. “We’re a long-term housing partner and a piece in a very large-scale community approach. And the biggest thing for us is to continue to be as active as possible.”
These are some huge issues — locally and nationally. Matt Sheffield feels that there is no end in sight for Habitat for Humanity’s work. Rather than lapse into despair, though, he sees the endless work as a call to action. “We’re going to keep doing it.” As long as there are groups like Habitat for Humanity, these awful economic conditions can be slowly and gradually combatted. GN
