QUESTION: Are all Habitat homeowners legal residents?

Pat Summitt and Bruce Pearl work hard to coach their teams to victory. They help young basketball players develop their natural abilities, learn new skills, gain self-confidence, and learn what it takes to become successful. The coaches get to know their players, both on the court and off. They know when to be gentle and supportive, and they know when to point out the hard realities of life.

Somewhere along the way, the players learn to trust their own judgment, work as a team toward the common goal, and also give back to the community. Years later, they can look back on their college basketball days and say, “My coach made all the difference. I couldn’t have done it alone.”

It doesn’t take an award-winning professional coach to help prospective Habitat homeowners change their lives. But Loudon County Habitat for Humanity does assign mentors—known as “support families”—who use a simple formula: encourage them, coach them, and be a friend.

For Habitat families, the search for adequate shelter is a nightmare. Habitat families are low-income working couples or single parents who find it impossible to afford adequate housing through any conventional means. They may be living in public housing, in the unheated attic of a relative’s house, or in a cramped apartment with leaking plumbing and mildew that makes their child chronically ill. A family of eight may be living in a two-bedroom mobile home because that’s all they can afford.

Just the thought of living in a simple, decent, affordable, energy-efficient house or apartment is an impossible dream—because of current income, past mistakes, or family circumstances beyond their control. Owning their own home is beyond imagination.

But they’re willing to work 500 hours of “sweat equity,” save money for their closing costs, and participate in educational workshops to help them prepare for homeownership through Habitat.

When it just gets to be overwhelming, when those sweat equity hours don’t seem to be adding up fast enough, or the thought of signing a 25-year interest-free mortgage is too scary, the support family can be their key to success.

Usually once each year, Loudon County Habitat accepts applications for housing from hopeful families. These families are diverse in almost every way possible. There are married couples, single moms, single dads, grandparents, and couples without children. There are Hispanics, Asians, Blacks, and Caucasians with a wide variety of employment situations. Some have physical, mental, or emotional issues; some have limited education.

As our Family Selection Committee reviews the applicants, checks their background documentation, and visits them in their current homes, they will select maybe 12 to 15 families who meet Habitat criteria and are candidates for homeownership.

At this point, the diversity of the families will be less significant than what they have in common: they’re currently in a low-income status, currently living in deplorable housing, and unable to find adequate housing. They’re also highly motivated to do whatever they can to improve their family’s lifestyle. They just need the opportunity—and a coach.

We refer to these coaches as “support families.” A support family may be either a married couple or an individual. They just need to be dedicated to seeing their family succeed as they make the transition to home ownership. They offer support, advocacy, and friendship. It would be helpful to have several support families who speak Spanish.

Habitat’s Family Support Committee will provide training for the support families and a manual that outlines Habitat procedures and guidelines for the families working toward homeownership.

We like to start identifying support families early each year so we’re sure we have enough for each of our new Habitat families when they’re ready.

Habitat doesn’t need professional coaches, but we do need you. Call the Loudon County Habitat office at (865) 986-3388 to find how you can help change lives.