Mission & Impact
Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.
Habitat Santa Barbara fulfills our mission by
protecting, preserving, and producing affordable homes for homeownership.
At Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County, we build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. We believe that housing is a human right — that communities thrive when people can live where they work, and that safe housing is a form of health care and a pathway to stability.
In response to a community where housing costs are high and affordable options are shrinking, Habitat Santa Barbara:
Produces affordable housing through new construction projects;
Preserves existing housing through home repairs and whole-home rehabilitations; and
Protects affordable housing by advocating for fair and just policies.
While our work is rooted locally, we also honor Habitat’s global mission and covenant through trusted partnerships. Each year, we support international housing development through a financial gift to trusted Habitat affiliate(s) across the globe to compliment our work locally. Since our inception in 2000, through partnerships, Habitat Santa Barbara constructed more than 475 homes globally, for families in need of safe, decent and affordable housing.
Protecting
As rent and mortgage prices continue to rise throughout the state of California, we must advocate for additional funding sources, regulatory reforms, and homeownership opportunities for low-income, working families.
Preserving
Through our home repair program, we help keep our community’s stock of naturally affordable housing safe and habitable.
Producing
We build new homes and rehabilitate existing homes and sell them at an affordable mortgage to low-income families. Habitat’s homeownership model is a unique program in which homeowners build or restore homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. In the past 25 years, Habitat Santa Barbara has built or rehabilitated 23 homes for 86 people, 50 percent of whom are children.
We are an organization that follows the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity protections. These protections and rights stem from the the Fair Housing Act which protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities. We also continue to train our staff and volunteers on these protections, as well as review and improve upon our own internal practices to create an inclusive and diverse community.