Habitat for Humanity

On April 11th, 2009, CBS Interactive Portland community team members participated in the project at 8116 SE Martins in Portland, Oregon.

About Us

Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East’s Vision
A community where everyone has a simple, decent, affordable place to live; and where poverty housing is unacceptable.

Our Mission

To build partnerships among volunteers, families and the community to transform lives and revitalize neighborhoods by enabling families in need to earn and own a simple, decent, affordable home.

As the oldest Habitat for Humanity affiliate on the West Coast, and the largest in Oregon, Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East has served low-income, hard-working families for over 25 years. We are currently one of the city’s only providers of home ownership opportunities to families at 30-60% of the median Portland household income level.

Partnering with the community, our volunteers build simple, decent homes, which are then sold at cost with a zero-interest, 1% down payment mortgage to families who qualify for our program. Their mortgage payments – payments that are often lower than what they were paying in rent – go into a revolving “Fund for Humanity” that is used to build more homes in the Portland area.

Our homeowners are committed and successful. We have experienced less than a 1% default rate on our mortgages, lower than the national average. By providing a hand up, not a handout, our program maintains the dignity and pride of our homeowner families.

Volunteer

Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East is a volunteer-driven organization – we are fortunate to have over 30,000 volunteer hours donated to our program every year.

As a volunteer, you can choose to make a difference in a variety of ways.

• Construction: come on site and help build homes for low-income, hard-working Portland families!
• “Non”-Construction: We always need volunteer help with special projects and events – it’s a great way to spend a few hours and meet new people. You can also join a committee, or help in the office or our ReStore.

Time commitments vary; some volunteers dedicate one, two or more days each week to Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East and others spend just a few hours each month working on committee projects or in the ReStore. As a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East, you can choose to volunteer as little or as often as you would like. All of these positions are a tremendous help that directly or indirectly result in the construction of simple, decent homes.