PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Habitat for Humanity recently received an astonishing $436 million donation from American author and philanthropist Mackenzie Scott — the largest gift the organization has ever received.
The Portland branch is receiving $8.5 million and putting the money toward helping Portlanders gain access to affordable homes amid the ongoing housing crisis.
Sandra Casillas, a mother of four and homeowner helped by Habitat for Humanity, said she was distanced from her kids.
“Prior to Habitat, I’ve moved approximately 18 to 20 times,” Casillas said. “I’ve gone through a domestic violence situation and almost everything you can think of.”
Steve Messinetti, CEO of Portland’s Habitat for Humanity, underscored the skyrocketing home prices amid the pandemic.
“We are in a housing affordability crisis like we’ve never seen before,” Messinetti said.
According to the Northwest Real Estate Multiple Listing Service, the average sale price of a home around Portland in January was nearly $596,600, a 14% increase from the same time in 2021.
“We are seeing that in our region, first-time homeownership opportunities like this are all but extinct,” Messinetti said. “What that means is that that puts incredible pressure on the rental market, and what that means is rents go up, and as rents go up, fewer people can afford their rent.”
He said the affordable housing crisis has created ripple effects throughout the lives of Portlanders.
“We have more people paying more of their income on housing, which is not good for their kids in terms of schools because they’re having to move so much,” he said. “It affects our healthcare system. It affects our traffic because people are having to travel further to get to work.”
In an effort to break this vicious cycle, Habitat Portland’s average first mortgage in 2021 was $166,000 for three- and four-bedroom homes — a life-changing price for people like Casillas.
“In 2014, we were given keys to the house, and have been living happily ever after,” Casillas said.
She said having the home brings her children peace and stability.
“You start to see how they change — they changed from fighting every five minutes about everything to just talking, sitting and sharing,” Casillas said.
The struggle is real, she said, but the success is priceless.
The donation from Scott will help the non-profit build and repair more homes, but Portland’s Habitat for Humanity leaders said it will also help them play a role in influencing policies to promote housing affordability across the region.
To volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, click here. To donate to the program, click here.