JACKSON, Wyo. — Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Teton Area (Teton Habitat) has announced that it has been awarded a $75,000 Housing Solutions Initiative grant from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, which will be used to begin a home repair pilot program.
Habitat Builds, the pilot program, is intended to focus initially on existing Teton Habitat homeowners with homes in need of critical repairs. Development Manager Jason Bruni told Buckrail that for the pilot program, Teton Habitat will be reaching out to current homeowners and asking for those who need for repairs and refurbishment in their homes.
Over time, the organization hopes to grow Habitat Builds into a broader, community-wide resource.
“The thought process is that this program will expand over the course of two to three years [as an estimate],” Bruni told Buckrail. “It’s an iterative pilot program, this is like phase one, which is working within Habitat homes with those who have identified needs.”
Bruni went on to explain that after the initial pilot program, Teton Habitat hopes to work with the Community Foundation further to create a loan component to help homeowners fund repairs. That is, Teton Habitat would identify work, estimate costs and generate the loan. Homeowners would then be responsible for paying that loan back to Teton Habitat.
Even further out, Teton Habitat hopes to open the program up to more of the community, so it can become a community-wide resource for housing preservation and long-term affordability.
“Safe, stable housing doesn’t end at the front door on move-in day,” said Teton Habitat’s Chief Operating Officer Kris Greenville in a press release. “This pilot program recognizes that maintaining a home over time is essential to long-term stability, especially for families working hard to stay rooted in this community.”
