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In February of 2022, I took the CEO position at Skagit Habitat for Humanity after working for eight years in homeless services. I had once been homeless and hopeless myself. I joined Habitat because I felt like I could make more of a difference by helping with the root causes of homelessness rather than just providing a band-aid. Homelessness is a housing issue. In November of 2013, I bought my very first home and it changed my life forever, so I know what a blessing being a homeowner is.

Affordable housing has been at crisis levels for several years. In the U.S. alone, 1-in-7 families spend half – or more – of their income on housing, a level deemed severely cost burdened. In Skagit County there are few empty apartments: the rental vacancy rate is zero percent and rents are up to levels never seen before.

The housing market to purchase has climbed to levels so that most people in our community cannot afford to own a home. These are people that you see every day when you go shopping or eat at a restaurant or get your pet groomed because they are the people that are working in these places. They work at the grocery store, restaurants, retail and hospitals. The area median income is over $75,000 per year and even folks earning that much are unlikely to be able to purchase a home in today’s market. Most of the residents in Skagit County do not earn near that amount.

We help families in our community that have jobs and work hard and still can’t afford rent or home ownership. Skagit habitat for Humanity can make the dream of home ownership a reality for people that are considered low income. We serve folks that earn between 30-60% of the area median income (AMI). Sixty percent of AMI is $45,000 per year. That is considered low income.

At Skagit Habitat for Humanity:

• We partner with the new homeowners to build their homes (yes, they build too).

• We assist them in financial matters regarding the purchase of their home (yes, they buy them).

• We provide them with a support partner to walk them through the whole process and provide support for a year or more.

• They must have a good credit score and have a good debt to income ratio.

• They must have stable employment.

There is an affordable housing crisis in Skagit County and Skagit Habitat for Humanity can provide a solution. We are pushing to build more houses than ever. We hope to have 12 built by mid-2025 but land is hard to come by. We hope to work with cities on acquiring land and provide affordable homes for their residents and people that work in their city, so people don’t have to commute as far as they have been to get to work. It is what creates a healthy and thriving community.

Habitat’s 41st Home Dedication Ceremony is 2 p.m. Sunday at Channel Cove, 938 Park Street. RSVP for parking instructions: 360-420-3649; [email protected].