I never thought I'd own a home.

I always thought I would live in a trailer or an apartment building for the rest of my life.

Habit has a great program.

They've taught me that anybody could own a house.

If you do it the right and correct way.

Housing is a human right.

I'm really proud to live in the community that we live in.

Because there are a lot of people that want to help solve the problem.

Everyone should have that opportunity for homeownership, to have their kids grow up in a stable environment, to have them go to the same school, have the same friends.

It is extremely important that this work continues.

Habitat for Humanity partners with people in Spokane County, and all over the world to help make homeownership a reality for families at home and abroad.

My name is Michelle Girardot, I'm the CEO of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate.

We serve all of Spokane County.

What is Habitat for Humanity?

Habitat is a home builder.

We are a financer, we provide retail, and we're a general contractor.

But none of those things are really possible without our engine, which is volunteers.

So we'll see anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 volunteers annually.

We're really lucky to have that kind of support.

That's kind of like the heartbeat.

In order to make us continue making housing achievable for, low income families.

My name is Crystal Mertens.

This is my new house that I am getting through the habitat program.

Before I got involved with Habitat for Humanity, I was in a two bedroom small apartment.

I have been in that apartment since my daughter was in first grade.

We've actually never lived in a house that's always been a trailer or apartment or something small.

My aunt and uncle told me about the Habitat for Humanity program and then told the whole family, and we all just got involved.

I was excited.

I was so excited to be accepted into the habitat program.

We've never had anywhere that's been ours.

Once someone is accepted into the Habitat for Humanity Home Ownership Program, they are responsible for completing partnership hours.

This includes attending classes that teaches habitat homeowners the basics on home ownership, finances, and home maintenance.

It also requires them to volunteer on the job site, where not only do they learn new skills and important safety information, but they get hands on experience building homes from the ground up.

Habitat homeowners are also responsible for things like saving for a down payment and closing costs.

So, families get all of those tools.

In addition to an affordable mortgage, no more than 30% of their income.

They're stepping into a more prepared life, a more prepared future.

I really like being out on the build site.

You get to talk with the workers that have worked for habitat for a long time.

You learn a lot about safety.

You actually learn a lot about the insides of your home, like what's inside the walls, what's under the floors.

You learn how to use tools.

Habitat for Humanity actually was born out of a radically inclusive farm in Americus, Georgia.

Clarence Jordan, a pastor, who saw the inequities that his community was facing and thought, well, why can't generationally black families own land?

Why are we not solving for this problem?

From there, Jordan and Habitat's eventual founders, Millard and Linda Fuller, developed the concept of partnership housing, with homes being built at no profit.

In 1973, the Fullers took their concept to Zaire, Africa.

Now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

After three years of hard work, they returned to the U.S. and in 1976, Habitat for Humanity International was founded.

And it came here, to Spokane.

It started in 1987.

A small group of volunteers in the basement of Saint Mark's Church on the South Hill, said, okay, we're doing it.

The next year, they sold their first habitat home, and today we have over 430 homes, that we've sold.

And that number just keeps rising.

My name is Eric Lyons.

I'm the Chief Operations Officer for Habitat for Humanity Spokane We do everything.

We frame the walls, we roll the trusses, we sheet the house, we put in cabinets, we put in flooring.

Every volunteer hour that somebody comes out and serves, that's a cost that I don't have to spend to hire a contractor.

And that's a more affordable mortgage at the end of the day.

We need partners.

We need volunteers.

We need donations.

Those donations we sell here at the store.

And we use those donations to help with home building.

We see that challenge of just the incredible need that is out there.

When we are able to come together and really focus on just that human connection, that basic need of we all want a safe place to live.

We all want to be able to contribute to our society.

We all want to make sure that we are leaving a legacy behind for our kids.

Having a stable, safe home for me and my family means the world to me.

What I would want someone to know about habitat is they help you make your dreams come true.

They help you with what you think is impossible, becoming possible.