The OC Voice is a portion of the OC Report newsletter where local residents may have a platform to talk about local issues they care about.
Jennifer Player is the executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County.
A home is more than just a roof and four walls. At Habitat for Humanity, we believe that owning a home doesn’t just provide shelter, but a home also builds strength, stability and self-reliance. This impact often breaks the cycle of generational poverty for families, changing the trajectory of their lives and the lives of their children.
The impact, though, does not stop with that individual family. When more people in our community have a safe, decent, affordable home, it helps us all.
Think about your daily routine. Do you see your kids off on the school bus or drop them at daycare? Grab a muffin in the morning from your favorite coffee shop? Pick up your dry cleaning on the way to work? Get your oil changed over your lunch break? Head to the doctor for a check-up? Stop by the grocery store for a few dinner items? Indulge yourself in a manicure? Order pizza delivery? Go through security at the airport?
The people who keep all of these aspects of our daily lives working — restaurant servers, bus drivers, nursing aids, daycare workers, cashiers — cannot afford to live here.
You see, whether we realize it or not, we need the people who need affordable housing.
When people can live closer to where they work, there is a decreased risk that the services we rely on every day will be disrupted in the face of a natural disaster or poor weather conditions. In addition, homeownership has been linked to a willingness to work together with neighbors to achieve a common goal and to spark greater civic participation. Investing in affordable housing also attracts new businesses, creates jobs and often times, makes communities safer.
In Orange County, a resident would have to work 99 hours at minimum wage in order to afford a modest two bedroom apartment. That means a majority of the people in our community are cost-burdened, spending more than 30 percent of their income each month on housing. The crisis is even worse in Chapel Hill where rents are higher based on the proximity to public transportation, good schools and major employers like UNC and UNC Health Care.
