“A college
in the heart of the community with the community in its heart.”
Sub-standard housing has been
a problem in Los Angeles since local rents and home prices escalated
in the 1970s according to the City of Los Angeles. The mission
of Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) is to eradicate sub-standard
housing by providing simple, decent, and affordable shelter for families
and individuals. Habitat for Humanity is a “hand up,” not
“hand out” program. As a student chapter affiliated with HFHI,
USC Habitat will work with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles
to have a positive impact on the community in which we live. The
following pages provide information about sub-standard housing in Los
Angeles as well as Habitat for Humanity.
A house is defined as sub-standard
due to:
- Overcrowding
- Dangerous living
conditions (bad wiring, high levels of lead, and others)
- Bad or no heating,
water, electricity, indoor plumbing, insulation
- More than 40% of
the family’s income is spent paying for housing
Poverty in Los Angeles:
In 1999, one year before
the last Census, there were an estimated 1.6 million poor people in
Los Angeles. This figure was 16.3% of the city’s 9.86 million
people. The national poverty rate was 11.8% . The poverty
line was defined as $8,501 for an individual and $17,029 for a family
of four.
Sub-standard housing in
Los Angeles:
- 18% of the housing
units in Los Angeles (240,780) are severely overcrowded, which the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development defines as 1.51 or
more persons per room. This is the equivalent of 7 people living
in a two-bedroom apartment. In other words, approximately 1,685,400
people live under these conditions.
Out of 528,800 poor households
in Los Angeles in 1999:
- 53,500 lacked complete
kitchen facilities such as a sink, refrigerator, oven, or burners
- 18,700 lacked all
or some plumbing facilities such as hot water, shower, flush toilet
- 52,200 had signs
of rodents within the past 3 months
200,000 children in Los Angeles
are known to live in sub-standard housing with substantial risk of exposure
to potentially life-threatening lead paint poisoning and other hazards.
The problem is getting worse!
There
are currently about 52,300 affordable housing units in Los Angeles.
- This number is expected
to be reduced 51% by 2010 while the city’s population only gets larger.
*Figures are from the 2000
Census and Los Angeles Housing Department
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity works
to eliminate sub-standard housing by creating a partnership with families.
Families must apply for the program and are selected based upon various
criteria, including financial security and willingness to be part of
a partnership. Families are given a no-interest loan that they
pay back over roughly 20-30 years at 35% of their income. The
house is built almost entirely with volunteer labor, so families only
must pay for the raw materials of the house and are usually responsible
for $70,000-$90,000 depending upon each individual home. Monthly
payments are then recycled into new homes. Each family member
over the age of 16 contributes 500 “sweat equity” hours, building
his/her own house in addition to working on other homes, creating a
“side by side” partnership with Habitat. Homeowners must agree
to take care of the house, and selection is 100% nondiscriminatory.
Get Involved!
Want to get involved? Shoot us an e-mail: habitat[at]usc.edu.
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