Habitat for Humanity of Wood County and Lowe’s are partnering to raise awareness of the global need for safe and affordable housing for women during International Women Build Week (March 8-15). On International Women’s Day, Habitat and Lowe’s will kick off more than 300 Women Build projects supporting women-led households across the United States, Canada, and India to drive awareness and address the need.
Women have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, from job loss to evictions and foreclosures. According to The National Women’s Law Center, 80 percent of U.S. jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic were held by women. The United Nations (UN) has reported that 40 percent of all employed women globally work in the industries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to be part of the solution of creating an equitable society. With Lowe’s support, we can foster equity in homeownership opportunities for women here in Wood County,” says Habitat for Humanity of Wood County Executive Director Mark Ohashi.
Despite the unprecedented challenges women are facing, women remain on the frontlines of the pandemic as essential workers, as caretakers within their households, and too often have to make the difficult decision between maintaining a place to call home and paying for food, health care, childcare, education or reliable transportation.
Harvard University’s State of the Nation’s Housing 2020 report revealed that 37.1 million U.S. households spent more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing in 2019, including 17.6 million spending more than 50 percent. The effects of the pandemic have further highlighted the need for safe and affordable housing, as 29 percent of renters and 36 percent of homeowners experienced employment income loss between March and September of 2020.
Habitat for Humanity of Wood County’s 2021 Women Build homeowner, Anastasia, is a single mother of four and lives in a two-bedroom trailer that is literally rotting. She has experienced first-hand the impacts of the pandemic having her new home build rescheduled and most recently, having her workplace shut down permanently. Anastasia is undaunted, pursuing new employment and committed to building a home for her family in the fall of 2021 that will be decent and most importantly safe.
This story is not unique. Every day, millions of women face the challenge of a future without adequate, stable housing. This issue underscores the importance of Habitat and Lowe’s efforts to bring awareness to the issue, as well as a partnership focused on ensuring that more women have access to affordable housing.
Lowe’s and Habitat’s partnership began in 2003 and the Women Build program was developed in 2005. To date, the program has brought together more than 143,000 women volunteers who have built or repaired nearly 6,000 houses. Lowe’s has committed more than $78 million to support the global housing nonprofit’s efforts, including the Women Build program, International Women Build Week, and Habitat’s Neighborhood Revitalization program. Lowe’s support of Habitat has helped more than 18,000 Habitat partner families improve their living conditions.
To learn more or join the conversation, visit habitat.org/womenbuild or follow #BuildHer and #WomenBuild on social media to share and view stories from around the world.
Habitat partners with individuals and families to help them obtain decent and affordable housing. Habitat homeowners partner with us to help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. To date Habitat for Humanity of Wood County has built 45 homes and completed numerous repair projects. For more information, visit wchabitat.org or call 419.481.8100.
