Frequently asked questions – Build Louder -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
Frequently asked questions – Build Louder
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Six year-old Diego lives with his mother and two sisters in this deserted and crumbling building
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What is Build Louder?
- Habitat’s multi-year advocacy campaign dedicated to influencing U.S. policies on the issues of neighborhood revitalization and secure tenure.
How does the issue of secure tenure play out in the U.S.? Is it related to eminent domain?
- In the U.S., land owners and renters enjoy many legal and regulatory protections at the federal, state, and local level that help ensure tenure security.
- But even with these protections in place, renters and land owners can still face insecurity of tenure when legal protections are not enforced. However, although a government can exercise eminent domain, it does not necessarily lead to tenure insecurity.
- Under the U.S. Constitution, land owners are guaranteed fair compensation if their property is taken by the U.S. government. In addition, many states have additional levels of protections for land owners.
- However, in other countries, if eminent domain is exercised by a government with no protections in place for land owners, a government’s practice of eminent domain may lead to tenure insecurity.
Why is Habitat for Humanity involved in advocacy?
- We cannot fulfill our mission and ensure housing for all simply by building more Habitat houses. Advocacy is a natural extension of the Habitat mission and supplements our house building efforts. To reach the goal of safe, decent, and affordable housing for all, we need to change systems, attitudes, policies and institutional behaviors that lead to inadequate housing and homelessness.
How do I get involved?
Where can I find Build Louder printed materials?
- You can purchase a Build Louder T-shirt by visiting Habitat's online store and selecting Build Louder in the Product Categories list.
I have ideas for Build Louder. Who do I direct them to?
I thought Habitat for Humanity wasn’t allowed to take government funding, when did you change your position?
- Habitat for Humanity has a history of working with the government to make affordable homes possible.
- Most of our support comes from non-governmental sources such as members of the community, companies and other organizations. Additionally, Habitat welcomes partnerships with governments that include accepting funds and other resources.
- For example, since HUD’s Self Help Homeownership Opportunities Program began in 1996, this program has resulted in more than $78 million on Habitat infrastructure improvements. To date, SHOP funding has lead to 12,228 completed Habitat homes for almost 46,000 people.
Where can I find more in-depth information about what’s happening on Capitol Hill?