Lakeland PBS presents Common Ground, brought to you by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Production funding of Common Ground is made possible in part by First National Bank Bemidji, continuing their second century of service to the community.

Member FDIC.

Closed captioning is made possible by Bemidji Regional Airport, serving the region with daily flights to Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport.

More information available at bemidjiairport.org [Music] Welcome to Common Ground.

I'm Producer/Director Scott Knudson.

In this episode, Lakeland PBS's own Amber Hynes volunteers at Northwoods Habitat for Humanity in Bemidji to build her own home.

Good evening.

My name is Amber Hynes.

I am a partner family that has recently fulfilled the dream of home ownership because of Northwood's Habitat for Humanity.

My name is Amber Hynes and my son and I were selected as a partner family for Habitat for Humanity in July of 2018.

Habitat for Humanity is an organization that helps low income families find safe, affordable housing and they provide the funding for them to be able to do that.

So I was involved in the Bemidji Jaycees, and they put on a huge event every year called the Home, Sport and Travel Show, and I was volunteering and one of my jobs as a Jaycee was to go around to all the different booths and judge them.

And I came across the Habitat for Humanity booth and the lady there provided me all the information and my son and I were looking for safe housing at the time.

So there was an informational meeting and we went to it and I filled out the application and about a couple months later, when I got the call, I had completely forgotten that I had even applied really.

Congratulations, congratulations, I'm so happy for you.

And they told me that we were selected to be a partner family.

There's certain financial guidelines that you have to meet.

You have to prove that you, like, have a job and you're able to make the payments that they set up for you to buy a house.

And so you have to fill out the paperwork.

You have to write an essay on why you should be chosen as a Habitat home, to explain what your need for housing is and your situation.

And then it goes to a board of directors, family selection committee process, and they read all of the applications and the essays and they make a decision on who they decide to partner with.

So once you're selected, you have to do 300 "sweat equity" hours for every adult that's in the household.

So for my son and I, I was the only one that was an adult, so we had to do 300 hours.

You always get more hours than what they recommend because there's just a lot of work to do.

They want half of those hours to be construction hours and half of those hours can be, but don't have to be, like outside other things, like sitting at the Habitat booth at the Home, Sport and Travel Show and providing information to people.

You can also go to the ReStore and help in the store there.

The donated goods that they get and they sell to help fund this project.

You can also go help in the warehouse.

So the ReStore is a store that people can bring recycled building materials to.

There's household objects, furniture, bolts and screws.

I mean there's really so many things that are in the ReStore.

But it's kind of like a secondhand shop, so you never know what's going to be there.

So we have a lot of regulars that come into the store and check out all the furniture and the things that we have, but all of the proceeds from those donations that they sell at the store are put back into the program.

The ReStore has open donation hours, but you can go and bring your stuff directly to the ReStore or you can call them and arrange for them to come pick up a donation.

I remember there was a house right by St Philips, they were selling it for zero dollars, all you had to do was move it.

But nobody bought it and so Habitat was contacted and they were able to go and reclaim a bunch of materials from the home that they could use in the ReStore, trailers and trailers full of trim and railings and anything that they could salvage by deconstructing the house.

The whole process is different for all families depending on your situation and how quickly you get your sweat equity hours in.

They won't even start letting you plan or pick a building site until you've completed 125 sweat equity hours.

And with your sweat equity hours, you don't have to complete all 300 hours yourself, you can have friends and family donate up to 50 hours of their time towards your sweat equity hours, which is a lot when you think about it.

That's a lot of hours that they allow other people to help you get your hours.

Then by the time that your house is ready to have the foundation poured and start working on your site and the materials that you need, it took us one summer to build our house, and we actually built two houses side by side that year so it took one summer for the whole process of actually building the house.

But we were accepted in 2018, we closed on our house 3 days before Christmas in 2021.

So Geri Hickerson is the CEO of Northwoods Habitat for Humanity.

She orchestrates everything.

She's involved with every single step in the whole process of the homebuilding and the application and all of your hours.

She helps you pick out a floor plan, gives you options that are suitable for your building site.

Not all sites are the same.

They purchase land or get land donated to them that they can use for building sites.

It has to be in town so that it can be hooked up to city water and sewer for a site to be a feasible site.

But Geri is involved in every single step of the process, from assigning you to a mentor family that'll help mentor you through the whole process and uplift you when you're feeling down and you feel like you can't really finish all of your sweat equity hours and finish the program.

They are there to help motivate you and keep you centered.

My name is Geri Hickerson.

I'm the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity here in Bemidji.

We've been around since 1990.

My position is to pretty much float above and make sure that finances are in order, that houses get built, that the ReStore runs well, supporting our families.

I'm also a loan originator.

So we write loans and we service loans.

There's just a lot to the organization.

Northwoods Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian ministry, and our purpose is to provide simple, decent, affordable housing to low income individuals and families in our area.

So in probably late 80s, Pastor Keith Zay and several pastors in the area realized that affordable housing was a serious issue in the area, so they started gathering and talking about how can they help with the affordable housing issue and they hooked up with people from Habitat for Humanity I think in Fargo area, and that was the impetus for Habitat for Humanity getting started here.

In 1990 we were officially formed, then named Bemidji Area Habitat for Humanity, and I was hired in 2006.

So from 1990 until 2006 volunteers managed mortgages, built houses, did all the things that we're doing now, and then when I was hired as the Director we just continued to increase the affordable housing stock in Bemidji.

My husband and I had applied back in 1988 when they were just getting off the ground for a Habitat house, were not selected at that time, so we just moved on in our life and bought our own house.

And when I saw that Habitat was hiring, even odder I was working at Lakeland Public Television, and saw that they were hiring and I was part-time so I applied and was hired then in June of 2006.

Sure, so our application is online on our website habitatbemidji.org.

We used to do orientation sessions, only do a couple rounds a year, but we've had difficulty getting people to apply.

So our applications are open year round, you can pick up that application online.

We do an orientation session with you, which is about a 45 minute period where we talk about what the process looks like and what it takes to get into a house.

They have a core group of volunteers.

They have a construction manager, the leader, he helps put the what's on paper onto the actual property and they have a crew of about five regular volunteers that come in.

But then all of the other labor for building the houses come from the homeowners themselves and people that are in the program.

If someone was interested in helping build on one of these builds all they would have to do is get in contact with the Northwoods Habitat for Humanity building or go to their website.

They have a lot of posts on when they're building and when they need help cuz sometimes there's a lot of sitting around and waiting for materials to come in or services to get done.

Steve Inkle is our current construction manager.

So he's the head honcho when it comes to the actual construction.

Him and his wife Colleen are absolutely wonderful.

They are probably the biggest volunteers at Habitat and, yeah, they're just great.

My name is Steve Inkle, I'm the construction coordinator for Northwoods Habitat for Humanity here in Bemidji.

I was a building contractor for 40 years and when I retired about 6 years ago I had been working with Habitat as a contractor supplying some supplies and goods and then also helping with labor on some of the houses at different points.

So I was well aware of how Habitat worked and the mission of their low income housing, and when I retired we kind of decided that this was one of the things we wanted to do as a retirement volunteer gig.

I've been involved with Habitat for Humanity for many, many years, again as a building contractor at the beginning, helping out, and doing some labor, donating some labor to the Habitat program and then basically I've been doing the construction coordination for about 5 years now.

The whole project starts with someone applying for the house and this is on the building side.

There's a committee that reviews all the applications and goes and visits the people and once they're qualified or once they're accepted and they work their hours there's a mentor that works with the homeowners on a day-to-day basis to get them through all the paperwork, processes, making sure that everything is going well, making sure that all the reporting and stuff is done accordingly.

Once we have somebody who qualifies for a house, which there are several steps for somebody to become qualified, once they qualify we meet with them in January or early February and have them pick out house plans and they have to pick out a lot.

At that point we need to get surveys done, we need to get permits done.

The application process starts with people who are in need of housing.

They have to fit into an income bracket where they are having trouble being able to purchase a home on their own but yet have enough income to be able to buy a home.

The homes that we build, they're homeowner owned when we're done.

We build a house and then at the end we have qualified applicant gets a 0% mortgage based on their qualifications and stuff and they have to do 150 hours of work before they qualify and then 150 hours of work after they qualify with the Habitat program.

So we have a site supervisor, retired contractor, and Habitat and volunteers build the house along with the families that are going to be purchasing them.

So depending on the build sometimes we do blitz builds where we have professional contractors on site building a house in a week.

We've done four of those and there's upwards of 100 people on that build.

A normal build where there's just family and the volunteers doing it, probably 50 to 60.

Women Build is designed to help women who are interested in construction get an experience on site where they're supported and feeling comfortable about being around builders.

So we have teams or individuals who sign up and either come in a team for a day or a week, depending on what their schedules look like, and the women come on site and build a home.

There's a lot of diverse ways to help us.

At Habitat we don't ask you to volunteer 20 hours a week, you can show up one time, volunteer with us, we'll put you in a place where you're comfortable.

We have volunteers who come every week.

We have people from ODC who come over and get some job coaching and so.

This summer we've had a crew of Youth Works kids coming, new crew every week, who have helped us just get a lot of work done.

So if you have groups who are looking for an opportunity we accommodate groups and always have some kind of a job that we hope is meaningful for them so that their volunteer experience carries them into the next experience.

So Habitat is an economic developer.

So we build houses, sell them to the families, and those houses go onto the tax roles for the county and the city and you know all of our products are purchased locally.

So we're helping, you know, the economy by buying locally from our vendors.

So here's what I see in a Habitat homeowner.

They move into their house.

They're now in affordable housing where they're paying no more than 30% of their income to housing and often times those families go back to school and their incomes increase and so we're boosting the economy and those families are staying here.

On the other side of the equation is the ReStore, which most people know about.

The Habitat ReStore in the industrial park is the store portion where we take recycled materials, items that have been donated by people in the community.

Those materials then are either fixed up and sold or just sold as is.

That helps generate income to help pay for the expenses.

Our ReStore has kept over 10 million pounds of material, that would have been thrown in the landfills, that has been repurposed or used again and we see items like sofas and sometimes entertainment centers and things like that that we'll sell and then they come back to us and we resell them again.

So it's a great recycling program for building materials, appliances, furniture, those kinds of things.

So I just think that, you know, the services that we provide to the community are something that no other organization does and we just fit into the fabric of our community.

Amber Hynes applied for our program in the fall of 2018 and was accepted in the program, started working on sweat equity hours and we started building her house in the summer of 2020, the first year of Covid, so that was fun for our volunteers.

She, from the fall of 2018 until the spring of 2020, got 125 hours of her sweat equity done so that she could start building her house.

Amber has continued to stay involved with us through Lakeland Public Television, keeping them informed of when builds are happening and what's going on at Habitat, and you know has been into the store and the office helping us out doing other things, too.

So it's been a great asset to our program.

So we sold her her house I believe it was just before Christmas in 2021 so she got to spend her first Christmas in her brand new house.

I think it's important for the community to know that we don't give these houses away to these families, they do 300 hours per adult in sweat equity to get into that house.

So they're working 125 hours prior to even being assigned a lot or looking at a house design and after that they have another 175 hours to do in construction working on that house so they know what's in it.

So they have a lot of skin in the game when we talk about a Habitat house.

And after we've got it built we sell that house to the family.

They have a 25 to 30 year mortgage and we service those mortgages so we're providing that service to the families as well.

So I just think that, you know, the community often thinks that, you know, these families don't have to work for it and they don't have to pay for it.

And once they find out what these families have to do to get into these homes is not easy.

Working families putting 300 hours into sweat equity in a matter of 6 to 9 months is a big deal and it's hard to do.

And it's hard on them and we recognize that.

So once we have that ready to sell the house, we have a home dedication and recognize them for all the hard work they've done to get in, and, you know, then say now I'm your lender and you need to make payments to us for, you know, 25 years.

Which by favor of God and human labor has made ready for Amber and again this home is not only a dwelling, but a symbol of us of God's love manifested through the efforts of many people and this family.

So, Amber, if you want to come on over.

Keyless keychains because we're not done.

Thank you so much, so happy for you.

Can you say a few words?

I just want to thank everyone that helped build our house, especially Steven, Colleen, you guys have been wonderful, Brian and Geri and I'm not sure where everybody is right now but I just really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

What Habitat does for the community is actually multifaceted.

First off we are taking properties that are either on the tax exempt roles or they've been abandoned.

We usually end up purchasing those properties at a reasonable price and when we put houses on them we put them back on the tax rolls.

So right there we're improving the tax base of Bemidji.

This is our 61st house that we've built so far, so that means there's 61 houses that have been built in Bemidji that were originally abandoned or empty lots or even old houses that we tore down to be able to build a house on them.

So that improves the quality of the housing in Bemidji.

These houses are not, they're not super fancy, they're not real elegant, but they are very, very quality structures.

We are building houses that generally heat for under $75 a month in the middle of the winter, so for utility costs the homeowners get the benefit of having low utilities along with interest free mortgage and that gets these people back on their feet to where they can return to the community.

It's a hand up for people who are willing to work for it.

The other part of it is that we're putting new housing stock into a community that really needs housing stock.

And this is low income housing, but it's not cheap housing.

This is very quality housing.

We all know the rental costs in Bemidji are relatively reasonable, but there are some that are fairly high.

But the problem is with renting is that there's no equity built for the homeowner and so the facet of owning a home is something that is just amazing for these people.

To be able to have lower payout for housing, which includes their mortgage, their insurance, and their utilities than what they had as a renter and still be able to build equity.

I think right now a lot of people are housing poor and these houses fall right into that area where it's a sweet spot where they can gain their equity over a period of 10-15 years.

They can turn around and sell the house and they can make, they have all that equity built up because they didn't have to pay it all out in interest.

We were selected to be a partner family in July of 2018.

We were able to purchase our home from Northwoods Habitat for Humanity three days before Christmas of 2021.

What a great Christmas present.

Thank you.

Habitat program is really a godsend for people who are falling into that gray zone that just doesn't, they're above the poverty level, but they're below really a livable wage.

I've been asked to speak tonight about what owning a Habitat house means to me.

I have a few words and phrases to sum it up: a family, a journey, a dream, dedication, hard work, volunteers, and a blessing.

There's a lot of people in this community that fit into those guidelines but are either afraid to make the move and contact Habitat.

Share your blessings, tell the single moms struggling to make rent about the program, and urge them to apply.

Tell the two parent, four kid household that foreclosed on their home about the program and urge them to apply.

No one would ever regret getting accepted into the program.

My son and I are planning on continuing to help volunteer on as many construction sites as we can in the future for Habitat.

I much preferred to get my volunteer hours in helping on the other builds that were going on.

It kept me active and gave me a variety of things to do and it was much more fun to work with my hands and use tools.

I helped on a few deconstructions to salvage building supplies for the ReStore.

I did things I had never done before.

If you're thinking about it, check it out, definitely apply, because I know the year after we closed on my house there weren't any applicants for the following year and, you know, it's a shame that more people don't apply because the funding is there for it.

The funding is there, the resources are there, the worst they can say to you is no or come back and try again another time.

I would like to address the misconception that our partner families with Habitat for Humanity just get a free house, because you don't just get a free house.

You have to put your sweat equity hours in before they even start construction on your house and at the end of it you're still taking out a loan to buy your house.

I love that Northwoods Habitat for Humanity is present in our community.

It's a place where people can go and volunteer their time and help build a sense of community for these families that don't have safe housing.

If you do get accepted into the program I'd wager to say that you would feel blessed.

Thank you for watching.

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Production funding of Common Ground is made possible in part by First National Bank Bemidji, continuing their second century of service to the community.

Member FDIC.

Closed captioning is made possible by Bemidji Regional Airport, serving the region with daily flights to Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport.

More information available at bemidjiairport.org.

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