KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tuesday kicks off two weeks of Habitat KC’s Women Build initiative.
Women Build has been going on for more than three decades. The event is for women to build homes with other women in mind.
Habitat KC cites a statistic from The Single Mom KC: 75% of single-parent households are led by women, and nearly half of the children in those homes are living in poverty. That is four times higher than children with married parents.
Habitat KC said building affordable single-family homes with women in mind can help give those mothers the power of homeownership to break the cycle and achieve gender equality in the housing market.
"Creating a strong future for children and for generations to come is really important, and we know that we have to do that and raise awareness about women in need of affordable housing here in Kansas City,” said Melissa Jones, with Habitat KC.
For two weeks, hundreds of volunteers will build homes in the Northeast Lykins neighborhood and in Armourdale in Kansas City, Kansas. Habitat KC said it is the first builder in the Lykins Park area in 25 years.
“This neighborhood has faced a lot of disinvestment. They also had huge, really high crime rates in this park that we're looking at," Jones said. "[It] used to be the center of a lot of negative activity, drugs and human trafficking, and we've helped revitalize that. And then, bringing new families to this neighborhood, their crime rate has dropped drastically. So we know that when we have collective impact in the neighborhood like this, then we can really get strong families in here where they want to raise their families."
Jones said Habitat KC’s applicants have to log 100 partner hours and financial education to become “mortgage-ready.” Once the families are ready to apply for a home, they do so with Habitat KC acting as the mortgage company.
“These homes will be sold to families with a 0% interest loan,” Jones said. “When they buy these homes from Habitat Kansas City, they are set up to be very successful and really build that strong foundation for themselves and for their future. Their monthly payment will be substantially less than what they're paying for rent, and that is never going to be more than 30% of their income.”
To volunteer with Habitat KC, click here.
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KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Independence. Share your story idea with Claire.
