Habitat for Humanity Helps Families Build Better Future

On a vast stretch of land in South-Central Los Angeles where gang members once fought amid weeds and rubbish, a new neighborhood flush with single-family homes is taking root through the efforts of Habitat for Humanity.

Workers have completed eight of 26 homes planned for the “96th Street Build,” which will stretch over portions of a five-block area along the northern side of 96th Street, between Central and Success avenues. The remaining 18 homes are expected to be completed by June.

Second-Largest Project

It is the second-largest project to be undertaken by the Los Angeles affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, which builds low-cost housing that the purchasing families help build. Only the 1995 Jimmy Carter Work Project, which resulted in the construction of 31 homes in a Watts neighborhood, is a larger local project.

The size of the two projects produces a different effect than some of the smaller-scale endeavors the group and its devoted core of volunteers have undertaken locally, according to Greg Treseder, director of development for Habitat for Humanity-Los Angeles.

“The biggest benefit we’ve seen is that when we can put that many responsible new homeowners in one neighborhood, it has a very big impact on the community as a whole,” Treseder said. “We’ve taken empty land that had been a nuisance and removed the opportunity for problems.”

Indeed, 96th Street has been transformed into an active construction site, with homes in varying stages of completion. Since the project got underway last summer, between 60 to 100 volunteers--many of whom lack construction experience--materialize each Saturday to help work on four to five homes at a time.

Each home takes roughly four months to build. The land was granted to Habitat for Humanity by the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission. Supplies are donated by an array of companies and groups throughout across Los Angeles.

Volunteers from seven Westside Presbyterian churches, for example, raised more than $140,000 and volunteered hundreds of hours to help build two of the 96th Street homes. Another home at the site was promoted by television talk show host Oprah Winfrey and sponsored by Cinesite Corp. Washington Mutual is 96th Street’s biggest sponsor, with four homes.

“The biggest benefit of all this other than creating affordable housing is that we bring members from throughout the community together to work alongside one another,” Treseder said. “It helps break down boundaries and create a bigger community at the same time.”

Perhaps the biggest benefactors are the families who are selected to purchase the Habitat homes, which typically cost between $71,000 and $75,000. The families, most of which have been stuck in a cycle of renting substandard housing, are given a number of breaks to help them become homeowners.

They include a 1% down payment, no-interest loans and investing at least 500 hours of their own labor into building their home, also known as “sweat equity.” The family’s monthly mortgage payments are deposited into a revolving fund that is used to build more houses.

‘A Hand Up’

“We give working families a hand up but not a handout,” Treseder said. “That’s what makes it work so well.”

Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has 1,300 affiliates in this country and 200 abroad. The 7-year-old Los Angeles office expects to complete its 68th house by the end of the year and an additional 50 homes next year.

Besides South-Central Los Angeles, the organization has primarily built homes in Lynwood, the West Adams/Normandie area and East Los Angeles. For information on volunteering, call (213) 975-9757.