Homeownership Can Be a Reality with Self-Help Housing Program

by Christina McCarthy

Next to getting married and having children, buying a home is one of the biggest decisions a person makes. Homeownership is life-changing - new responsibilities, repairs, and a mortgage. But homeownership positively impacts a person from the inside as well. Providing security, a safe place where everyone belongs, knowing that one’s family has a haven, a place to call their own.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, the cost of purchasing a house places homeownership out of reach for many. That’s why Catholic Charities Housing Services offers programs that help potential homeowners find a way to make the dream a reality.

Jacob and Juanna are among the many families who have benefitted from the Self-Help Housing programs. In their forties, they had long dreamed of owning a home but didn’t think they ever would. Jacob had been injured in an accident years ago and unable to work since then. They often lived paycheck to paycheck, and when they considered getting a home loan, they found they didn’t qualify for enough to build a house or have a down payment.

Fortunately, Jacob and Juanna spoke with a couple who built a home with Catholic Charities Housing Services. They soon applied to the Catholic Charities and were ecstatic to discover they were eligible for the program.

The Catholic Charities Housing Services (CCHS) Mutual Self-Help program, is supported by a grant from the United States Agricultural Department. This program helps low-income, first-time home buyers.

The Mutual Self-Help program creates “teams” of six to twelve families who work together to build a home for each of the families: a team of ten families will build ten homes. The families—with the help of friends and relatives—must commit 30 hours a week of sweat equity constructing the houses, under the supervision and guidance of a certified construction team. When one house is completed, they start building the next one. No one is allowed to move in until all the houses are finished.

“It’s a real commitment,” says Chris Lambert, Home Ownership Associate Director at CCHS. “But the reward for the commitment is so great.”

CCHS provides information, counseling, and other support for the new homeowners, and the USDA covers construction costs and provides subsidized interest loans for the families to purchase the houses.

“This job is so rewarding,” says Lambert. “We are helping change people’s lives and making a real difference.”

Jacob and Juanna are weeks just away from receiving the keys to the new home they built in Tieton. “After decades of renting, we can now create a solid foundation of something to leave behind for our children and grandchildren,” says Juanna. “We are especially thankful for how the team at CCHS has answered all our questions — big and small —and guided us through the whole process. We are so excited and so grateful to Catholic Charities for this dream come true.”