Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit, tax exempt, ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to working with people in need to improve the conditions in which they live. Our major purpose is to build homes for people in substandard housing who can afford to improve their living standards by conventional means. Each selected family must put in 500 hours of “Sweat Equity” or labor on Habitat projects, at least 400 hours on their own home and another 100 on another family’s. The houses are then sold to the family at NO INTEREST-NO PROFIT, with payments within 30% to 40% range of their net income. Habitat for Humanit Hemet / San Jacinto Affiliate is committed to excellence in the community. We feel it is our responsibility to provide leadership and give back to the community as much as possible.

The Hemet/San Jacinto Habitat Affiliate has provided shelter for 76 people of which 50 are children.

In October 1993 a steering committee was formed to organize a Hemet/San Jacinto Affiliate for Habitat for Humanity. The first Board of Directors was installed in January of 1995. In April of 1996 we officially became an authorized affiliate of Habitat International. The first house was built in conjunction with the City of Hemet and Target Stores, Inc. The house was completed in October 1995 simultaneous with the opening of the new Target Store in Hemet. Our second project was the building of three homes in the City of San Jacinto on Brown Street. These homes were built in conjunction with the City of San Jacinto’s Redevelopment Agency. The project was dedicated in August of 1996.

The Affiliate completed four houses in a fourteen month period. The houses amazed many people including the City officials and inspectors, as they had as few as eleven exceptions on the first inspections. These homes were built by volunteers and the families. At that time we had a President who was a licensed contractor for single family homes.

On October 25, 1997, on Make A Difference Day, we broke ground for the fifth house. This house was built by Home Depot, the family and volunteers. Home Depot donated all of the materials needed for this project. The Family Selection committee identified a family of seven living in a two-bedroom apartment to be the recipients of this house. This home was completed in 1999.

Habitat received two separate donations of parcels of land in San Jacinto in 1997. One of these parcels was used for the Old Second Street house. This house was built in conjunction with the City of San Jacinto and Home Depot. It is for a family of six with a physically challenged 18 year old boy. This home took eighteen months to build.

The seventh and eighth houses were built on land donated by Joe Ziegler and his partner Paul Ruggieri. A single mother with five girls who had been living in motels for almost a year qualified for one and a long established Hemet family of five received the other one. Several churches in the Valley helped with materials for the first house and the banks in the Valley donated funds for the second house.

Land for house number nine was donated by Thomas B. Washburn. This house went to a family of five that had lived in a converted chicken coop for seven years. Funding came from Habitat’s fund raising event called the Diamond Valley Lake Marathon.

The Devine Family in San Jacinto donated land for house number ten to Habitat. The house was sold to a family of six whose father had a back injury. Citibank/Citigroup Foundation provided funding for half of this house.

In the year 2002 we received donation of three parcels of land from the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Hemet. The City of Hemet also paid for the street and improvements plus all of the off-site preparations. We have completed the first house for a single mother with three children with funding from Citibank for half of the materials. The second house was dedicated in October 2006 for a family of six with funding from Citigroup Foundation for half of the materials that went into the house. The family moved in November 1, 2006. The third house, number 13, has been framed and closed in for the interior to be completed during the winter.

We currently have land to build 6 homes in Hemet, CA on Latham Avenue. We are currently in the process of selecting a family for the first of the six homes. Every donation and every volunteer helps tremeddously, visit the "Get Involved" page now to help out!

WHAT IS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY?

In 1976, Millard Fuller had a vision of providing affordable and adequate housing to low income families. In that year, Fuller co-founded Habitat for Humanity International. Because of Habitat’s work over the years, more than 125,000 families in 78 countries have received a simple and decent home built with love.

WHAT ARE HABITAT AFFILIATES?

Habitat for Humanity's work is accomplished at the community level by affiliates -- independent, locally run, nonprofit organizations. Each affiliate coordinates all aspects of Habitat home building in its local area -- fund raising, building site selection, partner family selection and support, house construction and mortgage servicing. Habitat is a worldwide, grass-roots movement. There are more than 1,900 active affiliates in 83 countries, including all 50 states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.

HOW DO WE PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING?

Habitat takes the profit out of housing. Through gracious donations of money, land, building materials and time we are able to keep the cost of construction at a minimum. Without volunteers donating their time for the labor of love our costs would be much higher. The homes are sold to families normally on a 20-year mortgage without interest. The house payments are used toward the building of future Habitat homes.

HOW ARE FAMILIES SELECTED?

Families apply to be considered for home ownership. Each affiliate's Family Selection Committee chooses homeowners based upon the family's housing need, their ability to make their house payments and their willingness to partner with Habitat by putting in up to 500 hours of sweat equity. These family's income normally represent 25 to 50% of the median income in the area. Race, religion, etc. are not factors in the selection process.