In the News

DOVER, Del. – Delaware’s Habitat For Humanity (H4H) organizations say the demand for repairs on homes owned by low-income people is exploding. Now, armed with new data, H4H says they’re planning to expand services to keep up with the demand.

The Hudsons

“He’s a double amputee, and this ramp couldn’t have come at a better time. We didn’t know how we were going to be able to afford it. And, we didn’t think that we were going to get accepted because we’re both retired,” said Dover resident, Vanessa Hudson.

Hudson is talking about her husband, Anthony, who relies on a wheelchair to get around. But after moving to Dover in 2020, it quickly became clear that their home wasn’t wheelchair accessible.

That changed when Hudson was shopping at a local H4H ReStore location. She says she noticed a brochure advertising H4H’s home repair assistance programs, and decided to apply. “You never know if you don’t try, if you don’t go for it, and put the effort in to see. If you don’t knock on the door, nobody knows you’re there,” said Hudson.

Now, a ramp built by H4H leads directly to the family’s front door. “It’s a very sturdy ramp. I’m able to wheel him up and down in the wheelchair with no problem. The workers were good, and I’m just so thankful for Habitat For Humanity,” said Hudson.

[read the full WMDT47 article]

DELAWARE– Cassandra Asher of Laurel says her home used to be riddled with problems.

“There was gaps all in the window, all in the door so I had to put insulation and things like that around the outside,” Asher said.  Sussex County Habitat For Humanity repaired two windows and a door for her.

“This window had plastic on it in the winter time so and it was very drafty,” Asher said. “I had a difficult time opening it.”

On Wednesday, employees from New Castle, Kent, and Sussex announced plans to mold together an expanded and refined statewide home repair program.

“In recent years, we realized that the most affordable house is the one that someone already lives in.,” CEO of Sussex County Habitat For Humanity Kevin Gilmore said. “And with a small investment we can keep people in their houses, still building new houses as we need to. But there’s a lot of people who just need some improvements living in their house or to make their house more healthy.”

According to a study done by the University Of Delaware, two-thirds of manufactured homes in Delaware are in Sussex County. Sussex County also has the highest number of low income households and homeowners.

Neighborhood Revitalization Manager Michael D’Ovidio says the need for home repairs is always growing.

“We can do roofs, we’re doing a lot of flooring, a lot of doors and windows,” D’Ovidio said. “It helps also with energy savings. So a lot of focus on that as well.”

The impact of the current home repair program is many stories high. Cassie was left unable to work after suffering a stroke and three brain aneurysms. She says Habitat was the hand-up she needed.

[read the full WRDE article]

A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Delaware for Delaware’s three Habitat for Humanity branches underscored the role of housing repair in addressing the state’s escalating affordable housing shortage.

The research team’s statewide survey reached an estimate of 25,000 owner-occupied homes in need of repair. Of those, roughly 5,000 could be considered substandard, meaning they are in severe need of repairs and could risk becoming uninhabitable. The types of repairs needed range from mold remediation to rebuilding foundations; in New Castle County, many of the homes in need of repair are found in older Wilmington neighborhoods, while in Kent and Sussex County, repair needs are greatest in manufactured home communities.

The researchers note that deferring maintenance on homes until they become uninhabitable only deepens the state’s affordable housing crisis, potentially leaving low-income homeowners – many of them seniors – homeless.

Research lead and UD Biden School of Public Policy and Administration associate professor Steve Metraux says essential repairs for those homes could cost nearly $100 million – an exponentially larger figure than the amount of funding currently available in Delaware to support housing repair.

[read the full Delaware Public Media article]

[Read the full assessment here]

WILMINGTON – Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County (HFHNCC) received a $35,000 donation from the Wells Fargo Builds program to support neighborhood revitalization on the Eastside of Wilmington. The grant will assist low-income families by building affordable homes, providing critical repairs to preserve homeownership and organizing neighborhood revitalization projects.

This month, Wells Fargo employees volunteered on the Eastside of Wilmington to clean up public spaces and installed: 31 smoke detectors, 33 ring doorbells, 32 motion detector lights, and 36 flower boxes.

“As homeownership remains out of reach for too many families, we’re proud of our long-standing work with Habitat for Humanity – both here in New Castle and nationally – to increase the supply of affordable homes,” Stephen Briggs, vice president of community relations for Wells Fargo, said in a statement. “Volunteering with Habitat has always been a huge source of pride for our employees, and we’re excited to put on our hard hats to help families start a new journey in their lives as homeowners – a key part to building intergenerational wealth.”

[read the full Delaware Business Times article]

WILMINGTON DE, December 1, 2022 – The impact of substandard housing on health and the need for critical home repairs in low-income, owner-occupied homes in Delaware is clear according to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Delaware’s Joseph R. Biden School of Public Policy & Administration.

WHAT:  Delaware’s Habitat for Humanity affiliates will hold a joint press conference to announce findings from a new Statewide Needs Assessment for Repairs to Low-Income Owner-Occupied Housing in Delaware. The needs assessment was partly funded by a Delaware Community Foundation grant.

WHO:  A statewide partnership between Delaware’s Habitat affiliates: Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, and Central Delaware Habitat for Humanity.  Remarks from Kevin Smith, CEO, HFHNCC, Kevin Gilmore, CEO, SCHFH, and Tim Bailey, Executive Director, CDHFH.

Researchers from the University of Delaware’s Joseph R. Biden School of Public Policy & Administration. Other invited speakers

WHEN:  December 7, 2022, at 11 am

WHERE:  208 Gunning Bedford Dr, Dover, DE

CONTACT:  Kathi Barber, Director of Development, Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County | 302.300.0533 | kbarber@habitatncc.org

[click here to download the official press release]

The housing progress on a block formerly known as Wilmington’s McCaulley Street represents a sense of satisfaction for Missouri Molock, who remembers what was once a waste-ridden street more than 50 years ago with run-down homes and weeds growing along vacant lots.

Molock, a 100-year-old East Side resident, first moved into the neighborhood in 1964. Around the 1970s, the area was filled with trash, she said, and many female sex workers partied inside vacant homes.

“Section 8 took some of those houses I heard — and somebody started renting them to some young girls who were noisy and left a mess,” Molock said.

According to Molock, the long-suffering neighborhood on the East Side bordering 11th, 12th, Lombard and Pine Streets endured roughly 20 years of disinvestment and neglect, leaving it up to residents to make changes they wanted to see in their own community.

[read the Delaware Online article]

Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, in partnership with Wells Fargo Bank, held a community cleanup on Wilmington’s Eastside. Volunteers picked up litter and spruced up landscaping throughout the neighborhood, as well as installed video doorbells and smoke detectors for residents.

[watch the full WITN video here]

WILMINGTON, DE / ACCESSWIRE / October 24, 2022 / Delaware Park Casino & Racing presented Habitat for Humanity New Castle County with a check in the amount of $7,500 today. In the past few months, Meals on Wheels Delaware, Boys & Girls Club of Delaware and Nemours Fund for Children’s Health all received donations from Delaware Park totaling $18,500. “We are overjoyed at the level of guest participation thus far. We plan to continue collecting unused slot vouchers, as well as making substantial cash contributions to many more worthy organizations on a monthly basis,” said Ron Baumann, President and General Manager of Delaware Park Casino & Racing.

Fifteen Delaware Park Team Members had a hands-on opportunity September 14^th, as they assisted with one of Habitat’s building sites. Says Mr. Baumann, “This experience was very rewarding and allowed us the unique opportunity to give back to the Community in a very concrete way.”

Habitat for Humanity NCC empowers homeowners, residents and volunteers to make lasting change in neighborhoods through education, training and advocacy. Since 1986, Habitat NCC has built more than 250 homes and has served more than 350 New Castle County families.

[read the full article here]