WOMEN BUILD 2020: WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN

Women Build: Why It Matters

Homeownership is one of the most powerful tools a person can use to build a stronger future; it improves financial, educational, social, and health outcomes for households and communities. And, this year has shed a harsh light on the undeniable importance of having a healthy and stable home as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic together.

The advice we hear and see, over and over, is to “stay safe, stay healthy, stay home”, yet being healthy and safe at home is not yet a possibility for many of our Chicago neighbors and the path to healthy, affordable, and stable homeownership is not yet a level playing field. 

Single women face more hurdles on their journey to homeownership than single men. That journey is even more difficult for Black women and women of color who continue to experience the detrimental effects of decades of racist housing practices, like redlining and predatory lending, on top of the gendered hurdles. 

Habitat Chicago’s Women Build brings hundreds of women together to raise awareness of this reality and actively work to help more women become homeowners through raising funds, volunteering on the build site to construct these homes, and spreading the word to their networks that it is harder for women to become homeowners.

This year, our Chicago Women Builders have a $300,000 fundraising goal and are building in West Pullman throughout the month of October on five Habitat homes, following strict COVID-19 precautions, that will be purchased by women in our affordable homeownership program. 

Updates from the Site 

Women Build teams are installing siding, sheathing, and exterior drywall, and preparing the homes for interior work. While out on the site for Women Build 2020, two of our homebuyers worked on their own and their future neighbors’ homes and left these special messages on what Women Build and homeownership means to them:

This event is about women supporting women, and that sentiment goes both ways. Women Builders are gaining new skills, new connections, and a new perspective about their city. Check out one Women Builder's recap from her build day:

Video courtesy of Karen Hood, Women Build Team Leader, Ladies of the House

What Can You Do? 

If you are interested in helping more women access the strength and independence of homeownership, please consider a contribution to Women Build 2020 or contact us to add your name to our interest list for Women Build 2021.