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Fauquier Habitat’s Forever Mission: AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Fauquier Habitat’s Forever Mission: AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By M.J. McAteer
In these uncertain times, as federal housing assistance programs are being axed or suspended, the Fauquier Habitat for Humanity is holding steady in its mission to bring people together to “build homes, communities and hope.”
If Washington no longer can be relied upon as a reliable source for financial assistance, Melanie Burch, president and CEO of the Warrenton-based nonprofit, is undeterred. She said she’ll continue to pursue all state and local funding possibilities as well as contributions from foundations and private individuals to close the likely money gap.
That Fauquier County even has a pressing need for affordable housing might surprise some people. Statistically, the jurisdiction is among the richest in the commonwealth, with the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data pegging its median household income at $122,785 and its medium home value at $501,200.
However, the wealth of a few masks the fact that many hard-working people essential to the region’s economy—including teachers, firefighters and police officers—can’t afford to buy homes in the county where they work.
“There’s a large disparity between the haves and the have-nots,” Burch said.
That disparity is in plain view from the fourthstory windows of her Alexandria Pike office. It overlooks Haiti and Horner streets, where, in 2019, the average household income was just $35,000.
The two Warrenton streets are at the center of one of the town’s oldest neighborhoods, a historically black enclave whose residents once worked for the more wealthy folks who lived on High Street. The Haiti area was rundown and impoverished for many years before Habitat launched its Haiti Neighborhood Revitalization initiative in 1994.
Since then, Burch’s organization has spearheaded the creation of 19 new or rebuilt residences with 13 more coming on line as of this writing.
Although volunteers remain an essential element of Habitat’s success, the image of late President Jimmy Carter swinging a hammer as he helped construct Habitat homes is a bit out of date, at least at Fauquier Habitat for Humanity.
“We’re not solving the housing crisis by building one house at a time,” Burch said, adding that her organization has turned to prefabs as a quicker and cheaper way to provide housing.
“People deserve to be able to afford a starter home,” she said, and these modular structures can be built out for less money than a house constructed from the ground up. Waste is reduced to 4 percent instead of the 10 to 13 percent involved with traditional construction, which helps Habitat mortgages come in around the $300,000 mark.
The modular houses also require fewer of what Habitat calls “sweat equity”—the hours it takes to make the houses turn-key. The latest one-, two-, threeand four-bedroom housing units going into the Haiti Street area are energy efficient and made of a concrete composite that is not susceptible to insect damage.
They’re what Burch described as “a lasting product,” designed to build generational wealth for families through home ownership.
Burch stressed that these starter homes are not the result of Habitat imposing its vision of revitalization on the people who already lived in the neighborhood. They’re the product of a group effort.
“Our goal is to work with people already in the community,” she said. “The residents give input. They are the most important piece (of the process).”
Habitat doesn’t consider its work is finished once construction is over.
“We don’t say, ‘See you later, we are done,’” Burch said.
Instead, Habitat supports the success of new and soon-to-be homeowners through continuing education classes that help them understand the mortgage process, develop financial resilience and attain the knowledge needed to maintain their new residences. The goal is for these first-time homeowners to learn how to become their own best advocates.
The Haiti Neighborhood Revitalization is currently Fauquier Habitat’s primary focus, but Burch also has a grander vision. One day, she’d love to see her organization help create a village just for teachers. Right now, Fauquier is losing them—the school system posted more than 100 vacancies this spring. One likely reason is that given a median salary of $52,889, most teachers can’t afford to buy in the county.
Admittedly, a teacher village is only a dream at the moment, but as that most famous of dreamers, Martin Luther King, once said, “It takes sustained pressure over time to effect change.”
That sort of tenacity defines Fauquier Habitat for Humanity’s mission. It’s in the business of providing housing opportunities for the less-advantaged, and it’s definitely in that business for the long haul.
