50 South Bay Accent
“I’m a little embarrassed by that, but it
was a great honor, and totally unexpected,”
she says. “I’m not one of those people who
seeks awards like that, but I have to say I was
very proud and very humbled that my staff
nominated me. Once in a while, getting a
pat on the back from your community is
not a bad thing.”
At press time, Habitat for Humanity East
Bay/Silicon Valley was hard at work on about
55 homes in the tri-county area. The organization
also does repairs and renovations
to preserve the existing affordable housing.
In addition, it’s partnering with another
nonprofit in San Jose to build tiny homes
in the city as a way to ease homelessness.
“I’m hoping that will be a way that we
can support the issues in the homeless sector,
which is such a huge deal everywhere
now,” she explains.
Jensen says Habitat gets hundreds of
applications for every home the organization
has available, but many who go
through the application process are not
ready. Habitat offers these people counseling
on home ownership and finances,
and when they are ready, they can come
back and reapply.
The housing leader also wants to correct
a common misconception about Habitat
for Humanity.
“People say we give away homes. We
don’t.” The program, she says, is quite rigorous.
“The only thing we give away is opportunity.
We offer hand ups, not handouts;
that hand up is often a lifeline in helping
these people find an affordable place to live.”
Here’s how it works. Once it chooses a
potential owner, Habitat sells the home
to the family, which takes on a monthly
mortgage payment of about 30 percent
of the homeowner’s monthly salary. That
way, Habitat knows the homeowner will be
able to afford it. Habitat families also help
build their homes, along with those of other
families in their communities, and in that
way, begin getting to know other Habitat
residents and building communities before
they even move in.
In addition, Habitat educates families
on how to manage their finances, on home
maintenance, and on other aspects of owning
a home so when they are ready to move
in, they’ll be able to sustain it.
“A lot of their sweat equity is not just in
building the house, but also in learning how
to be a homeowner,” Jensen explains. “We
have to teach that to people because they
Habitat EBSV
now has two
offices, one in the
South Bay and
another in the
East Bay, along
with dozens of
construction
sites and four
ReStores,
which sell used
furniture,
appliances and
other household
items.
TONY AVELAR /AP IMAGES FOR HABITAT FOR HUMANITY EBSV; OPPOSITE: CHRIS AYERS