AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Don’t forget Habitat for Humanity

Thank you for your article about Century 21 Beutler and Associates’ support for Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance (PAHA). Their efforts are commendable. Multiple approaches and our whole community’s support are needed to solve the affordable housing crisis our community faces.

I’d like to remind your readers about another local nonprofit which offers low-income families the opportunity to become homeowners. Most families would probably rather own their home than rent. I believe Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho’s model of homeownership is a better long-term solution for affordable housing. This nonprofit has already built and sold homes to more than 50 Kootenai County families. It has five more homes under construction right now, and plans to sell them to low-income families in 2024. It doesn’t limit its housing opportunities to those in the workforce. Habitat for Humanity builds and sells homes to retired, working and young adults. It also provides these families and individuals with training to manage their personal finances and live within their budgets.

Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho’s construction sites provide another valuable service for our youth. Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC) students receive hands-on, practical training preparing them for careers in the construction trades as they work side-by-side with Habitat for Humanity’s construction professionals building homes from start to finish while earning college credits.

Please consider how you can help solve our community’s affordable housing crisis by funding homes that are being built right now. Join in Habitat for Humanity’s Avenues for Hope fundraiser; donate by Dec. 31 at www.northidahohabitatorg. Your donation will help immediately to build affordable housing in our community.

JENNY TAYLOR, long-term Habitat for Humanity volunteer and donor

Coeur d’Alene