Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

Many working adults have come to age with the image of the suburbs as a land of opulence and upward mobility, where children play baseball and ride sparkling red bicycles down streets framed with pristinely manicured lawns.

But reality tells us a somewhat different story.  For the past decade, poverty has steadily been on the rise nationwide, most notably in suburban regions.  According to a recent Brookings Institution report, “by 2005, the suburban poor outnumbered their city counterparts by at least 1 million.”

The report was not news to Angie and Mike Wurm and their three kids.  Before purchasing their Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH) home in Columbia Heights, the family lived in subsidized housing in Shoreview.

While they were thankful for affordable rent, the percentage of rent they paid was entirely dependent on Mike’s paycheck.  “For a lot of years we felt hopeless because it seemed that we could never get ahead.  Mike would work overtime and then our rent would go up the next month.  There’s no reward for trying to better yourself,” said Angie.

The couple had hopes of one day owning their own home, but with fluctuating rent costs, and in the absence of a substantial salary hike, they couldn’t build enough savings to make it happen.

Their story illustrates the most significant reason so many working families struggle – the considerable gap between wages and the cost of living.  According to the Brookings report “families with children, especially those with a single earner, are among the groups most likely to live in poverty in the United States.”  The report also notes that the federally established poverty level is outdated because it does not take into consideration the rising living costs that families face in today’s economy, including housing costs, childcare, healthcare and transportation.

Child care often makes it cost prohibitive for both parents to work if they are both low-wage earners.  In a national report released last year by the Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, “Minnesotans pay more for child care in relation to their income than any other state.”  The average cost of infant care in the Twin Cities is $12,000 per year.  For a family like the Wurms, with three children, there was simply no way to realistically bring in two incomes.

While the Brookings report raises awareness of poverty in the suburbs, that doesn’t make the areas any less attractive for families – particularly in more prosperous metropolitan regions like the Twin Cities.  Rising housing costs in the core cities, and an increase in job availability in fast-growing suburban communities are among leading reasons that working families are looking more and more to the suburbs.  Areas that incorporate Smart Growth models offer further amenities for families that want the convenience of big-city life in a small community atmosphere.

Twin Cities Habitat rolled out a strategic plan this year that will focus three-quarters of new house production in fast growing suburbs. “While we are committed to preserving homeownership opportunities in the core cities, we recognize the growing affordable housing need in the suburbs,” said Susan Haigh, president of TCHFH.

The stable mortgage payment on their Habitat home allowed the Wurms to build savings and equity, and gave Mike the freedom to go back to school, which led to several job promotions – ending the hopeless cycle of poverty that had previously trapped the family.

“Some community leaders may think that if you are poor you are useless, or that you will bring something bad to the community. All I can say is that you have to give people a chance,” said Angie.  “We were given a chance by Habitat to prove ourselves as hardworking.  There are lots of other families out there that would like the same opportunity to better themselves, to own a home, and to contribute to society and their communities.”

Contributed by Sharon Rolenc