Our Vision:

A world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Our Mission Statement:

Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.

About Habitat for Humanity of Arkansas City:

Habitat for Humanity of Arkansas City is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God’s love into action by building homes, communities and hope. Habitat for Humanity of Arkansas City is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.  Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.

All are welcome:

Habitat for Humanity of Arkansas City has an open-door policy: All who believe that everyone needs a decent, affordable place to live are welcome to help with the work, regardless of race, religion, age, gender, political views or any of the other distinctions that too often divide people. In short, Habitat welcomes volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds and also serves people in need of decent housing regardless of race or religion. As a matter of policy, Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliated organizations do not proselytize. This means that Habitat will not offer assistance on the expressed or implied condition that people must either adhere to or convert to a particular faith, or listen and respond to messaging designed to induce conversion to a particular faith.

About Habitat for Humanity International:

Founded in Americus, Georgia, USA, in 1976, Habitat for Humanity today operates around the globe and has helped build, renovate and repair more than 800,000 decent, affordable houses sheltering more than 3 million people worldwide.

Habitat For Humanity Of Arkansas City

Fact Sheet

Habitat for Humanity:

HFH is an ecumenical Christian non-profit organization created to provide access to decent, affordable housing for working families of modest means.  Our mission is to work in partnership with the community and individuals in need, to build a simple decent home.  We are affiliated with Habitat for Humanity International, which has built over 800,000 homes around the world through the work of 1,600 US affiliates and affiliates in 70 countries around the world.

Housing Needs:

In Cowley County a significant portion of the population are working poor, due to their lower paying jobs.  As a result, families tend to live in substandard housing and spend between 45-70% of their income on rent.

Solution:

One solution to this housing problem is Habitat for Humanity.  Habitat works in partnership with the working lower income families to build simple affordable housing.  A typical three-bedroom, 1,300 square foot home costs approximately $100,000 to build.  Habitat houses are built by the homeowners, community volunteers, and skilled labor using tax-deductible donations of money, skills, and materials.  Once the homes are completed, they are sold to families at no profit and are financed through an affordable, no-interest loan.  The homeowner’s monthly mortgage payments go into building more homes in Arkansas City.  In addition to a small down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, each homeowner family invests a minimum of 300 hours of labor into the building of their own home. We also tithe 10% of our donations to Mexico Habitat for Humanity which is normally enough to build one house in Mexico for each house we build locally.

Habitat Families:

To be selected for a Habitat home in Arkansas City, a family must have a need for improved housing and have an income that falls between 60% and 80% of the Cowley County median income.  Additionally, families must be willing to partner with us and be a legal rental resident of Arkansas City.  The homes are sold to the families at the appraised value.  The sale is written using a first repayable mortgage in the amount of the value to cover the cost of building the home and a second forgivable mortgage for the difference. Each year of payment on the first mortgage results in a year of forgiveness on the second mortgage.

Habitat Builds More Than Houses:

Our philosophy is that shelter is a basic human need and that everyone deserves a simple decent place to live.  Habitat for Humanity’s goal is to eradicate all substandard housing from the world, not through charity, but by providing those in need with the capital, volunteers, and skilled labor to help themselves.  The benefits of this simple concept do not end with the sale of the home, but have been found to affect other areas of the family’s life.  The health of the family tend to improve, there is a reduction in domestic violence, children’s grades improve due to a more stable environment, and family members begin to feel empowered to improve other areas of their lives over which they previously felt they had no control. 

Accomplishments to Date:

Arkansas City Habitat for Humanity organized in the year 2000.  We have built one house each year since then, improving the health and prospects for many partner families and their children while providing a positive influence in the neighborhoods.