Habitat for Humanity East Bay

Community Building

The long-term prosperity of Habitat partner families, once they’ve moved into their homes, is powerfully influenced by the conditions of the neighborhood surrounding their homes.  Sustainable solutions to neighborhood problems depend upon partner families who are willing and able to collaborate, analyze problems, and find common-ground solutions.  By providing and supporting opportunities for partner families to develop as leaders, Habitat East Bay gives partner families more opportunities to achieve prosperity in their neighborhoods and in their lives.

At Habitat East Bay we understand that relationship building is the core of any successful community building effort, so we create diverse opportunities for homeowners, staff, and volunteers to work together in a supportive environment, from day one. In this way, long-term relationships between homeowners and with Habitat staff and volunteers are created, developed and nurtured through each stage of homeownership.

Habitat East Bay has developed a Community Building model based on long-term investment in partner families that lasts for the life of their relationship with Habitat.

Community Building at Habitat East Bay

Selecting partner families with the interest and commitment to improving their neighborhood. We look for potential homeowners who have taken a leadership role in their community, whether for a sports team, community group, or school or religious activity. We also seek out homeowners who have an interest in improving their neighborhood, even if they’ve never done it before.

Training partner families about topics so they will be confident, prepared homeowners after moving in. Current workshop topics include:

• First-time homebuyer’s workshop
• Planning for the financial future
• The responsibilities, mechanics and challenges of running a Homeowners’ Association (if relevant)
• The organizing process - the one-on-one interview, door-knocking, building a core around you
• Acquiring skills to run a social change organization - Planning and facilitating meetings, using the media, grassroots fundraising, living in a diverse community, preventing burnout, conflict resolution
• Understanding the features of your home - Understanding the ‘green’ features, maintenance of your home

Identifying potential leaders and nurturing their development. Habitat staff partners with emerging leaders to identify how they can best serve their Habitat community.  Depending on a person’s strengths and a neighborhood’s needs, leaders may organize community socials, spearhead a campaign, form a committee or even take on a leadership position in a homeowners’ association.

Developing neighborhood groups to unify the Habitat community and capture the potential of a Habitat neighborhood once homeowners have moved in. With the structure of a community group or homeowners’ association, neighbors can come together to address all kinds of issues in their community while building strong relationships together.