For the past 10 years, Habitat for Humanity has been building houses at the Kern County Fair.? Last year, they completed a house in 10 days. This year, they will be building children’s playhouses that will be auctioned off for profit.
Max Hernandez, who has been the associate director for Habitat for Humanity for a year, said, “This is the first time in 10 years we couldn’t get the funding to build a house.”?
“We still wanted to be involved in the fair and have the community learn about our organization and what we do, so we came up with the idea to build playhouses.”?
The playhouses are being built at the fair and a live auction will bring in profit for the program.? “All profits go to what we’re doing,” he said.?”This is a really good program.? We just couldn’t pull the funding this year.”? The auction will occur on Oct. 12 at Modern Office Environments, 830 21st St.?
According to Hernandez, the biggest misconception the community has about their organization is people assume the houses are given out for free.? “Here at Habitat, we help people who want to help themselves.? They purchase the houses from us,” said Hernandez.?
There’s a pre-application process families go through if they’re in need of a house.? To fill out an application, you can visit the Habitat for Humanity office or visit their website.? Press releases and Facebook are also used to spread the word.? The family selection committee then scans through all the applications.?
According to Hernandez, monthly payments on the houses range between $300-$500.? They sell the houses to families for the cost of the materials.? “The family we select is required to do 500 hours of what we call sweat equity. Side by side, they help the volunteers build their future house.”
Volunteers are always welcome and always needed.? “We have an amazing volunteer base here.? Everyone works together to help better the community at all.”?
Hernandez believes it’s a good learning experience.? “Volunteers just show up. ? We have a supervisor.? If you don’t have any skills, people will take you under their wing and show you how to do them.” ?
Economy has changed how Habitat for Humanity operates.? “Lately because of the housing industry and market, it’s been more cost effective to purchase a house and fix it up,” Hernandez said.
Habitat for Humanity in the past built houses from scratch.? “These days, we’ve been purchasing houses and fixing them up,” Hernandez said. Time spent working on houses varies. “It depends on how long it takes us to fix it,” he said. “The condition of the house plays a huge factor.? It’s a new endeavor we’re working on.? Sometimes it can be as quick as two months, sometimes much longer.”