Opening Doors...Stable Homes, Education, Open Doors

By Matthew Whittle

Every year, as school supplies start to appear on shelves of local stores, I’m reminded of a saying I’ve shared many times: “Children can’t do homework without a home to work in.”

It’s a good reminder of how important a safe, stable and healthy home can be for a child’s success. After all, the evidence is clear.

Homeownership is linked to higher math and reading test scores. Children of lower-income homeowners are 11% more likely to graduate high school, and 4.5% more likely to complete postsecondary education than those of lower-income renters. A $10,000 increase in housing wealth raises the likelihood of college attendance for lower-income children by 14% – and each year of homeownership adds an average of $9,500 in household net wealth.

So when we think about opening doors and creating opportunities, there’s not many better opportunities we can give children in our community than one that allows them to live in a safe, stable and healthy home – where they can focus on their homework.

It’s also a reminder that while we don’t often share the firsthand stories and experiences of our Habitat homeowner children, they are ones whose futures are being built on these new foundations of strength, stability and self-reliance through affordable home ownership.