Kalamazoo Valley Habitat for Humanity

Construction - build, renovates or repairs homes for low income Kalamazoo county residents. This is accomplished through a combination of volunteer and paid staff as well as professional and contracted labor. Kalamazoo Valley Habitat oversees the entire home building process; land acquisition; site planning, home design, pulling permits, utility hook-ups, construction, landscaping and serving as general contractor with sub- contractors.

Restore - sells new and used overstock and discontinued building and home improvement materials donated by manufacturers, stores, contractors and individuals. These donated items are sold to the public or used in the construction of homes. Profits are used to support housing solutions for low income families.

Mortgage services - all Kalamazoo Valley Habitat properties are sold to our family partners using a mortgage note and deed which are prepared by Habitat for Humanity Michigan. Kalamazoo Valley Habitat is the lien holder for all its mortgages. The mortgages are held "in house- and title insurance is provided for all the properties sold. Habitat for Humanity Michigan services and collects all the payments, with proceeds returning to Kalamazoo Valley Habitat, reinvesting into other home projects.

Volunteer development - enables Habitat to fulfill their two fold vision to make simple, decent, affordable housing available and to transform lives and our community. Utilizing volunteer labor and resources significantly lowers the cost of home construction. Yet, most importantly, through the act of working in partnership with volunteers and homebuyers, we empower individuals and families to engage themselves in their community and to impact the lives of their neighbors through service and advocacy. Family service - has two major sets of activity. The first activity is the recruitment and selection of Habitat partner families. This is a complicated process involving community education events, partner recruitment sessions, screening many applicants with the goal of serving 12 - 15 partner families per year (depending on eligibility of applicants). The second major set of activities is family support. This involves three stages: 1.strengthening the partner relationship between the Habitat partner and the affiliate. 2.supporting the partner family with information and training through their homebuilding and sweat equity process. 3.preparing the partner family for a successful transition from renter to owner (training, skill development, attitude and responsibility).