We are asking YOU to help us raise the final $30,000 needed toward our first community by 1/1/17 —Three homes, three lives, and the possibility of sparking a movement that would help alleviate the desperate need for affordable, sustainable housing in our area and throughout the US.
OUR INSPIRATION
Pee-Wee is 72 years old, has lived in Chapel Hill his whole life. — He was a skilled brick mason for decades . Building dozens of the brick buildings we see to this day in our community. After suffering a stroke in 1995, he lost his ability to walk and speak temporarily and his acute motor control – leaving him unable to practice his trade. Without steady income, he could not afford a home in Orange County and was homeless on and off for over a decade – sleeping in the woods for much of this period.
He encountered what many of us have come to know as the affordable housing crisis in our Orange County. Thankfully, Pee-Wee is now housed in one of the very few homes in our community affordable with his fixed income of $750 per month. But the problem lives on. He built this community, literally, and yet can barely afford to live here in his retirement. The struggle of his search for housing in many ways inspired the launch of this movement.
THE IDEA
There are nearly 5,000 extremely low-income families in Orange County with unmet housing needs. Pee Wee Homes has come together to be a part of the answer to this glaring call for affordable housing in our community. Homes that individuals with fixed income like Pee-Wee can afford; homes that allow elderly homeless individuals to age in place; homes that a single individual earning minimum wage can afford; and, importantly, homes that support independence within the context of community.
OUR 3 GOALS
Homes: Homes that are beautiful, accessible, and under 450 square feet. Homes for people without housing.
Community: building communities of mutual support with these new neighbors is vital to our two-part solution– not only do more people need housing in our community, but they need access to resources and support that will help keep them housed.
Equity: Residents of PeeWEE homes will pay no more than 30% of their income for their home each month. Monthly payments will cover their rent and include a portion that get’s tucked away in a savings account for them!
OUR GOAL
We’ve already raised $100,000, and we only need $30,000 more to fund our first 3 homes!
We are asking YOU to help us raise the final $30,000 toward our first community– three homes, three lives, and the possibility of sparking a movement to help alleviate the desperate need for affordable, sustainable housing in our area and throughout the US.