The Metro: Habitat for Humanity home repairs expand to Madison Heights
Ann Duke, chief development officer for Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County, joined the show to talk about the organization’s efforts.
For Aretha, the accessibility features in her Habitat home “make a big difference” for her and her two children, 22-year-old Devin and 21-year-old Zacaya.
Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County provides a variety of housing programs, mainly focusing on Southfield and Pontiac. They’re now expanding to the city of Madison Heights to offer critical home repairs.
Ann Duke, chief development officer for Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County, joined The Metro to discuss how the organization is supporting people during a housing crisis.
Habitat for Humanity is known for its new home program, but there’s a need across the country to maintain an aging housing stock, Duke says. The program is free but properties must be owner occupied. It’s also intended for households making less than 80% of the area median income.
“You know, our housing stock is aging in this country, the average age of a home in Michigan is anywhere between 50 and 70 years old,” Duke said.
The repairs are mainly based around home safety issues, from something as large as a roof replacement to smaller projects like adding handrails to stairs, Duke said. There’s a decent size budget for each project in Madison Heights, and there’s more repair programs that Habitat can refer people to if needed.
People can apply to the critical home repair program at habitatoakland.org. Their office can be reached at 248-338-1843.
More headlines from The Metro on March 28, 2024:
- Between 2010 and 2016, city homeowners were overtaxed a collective $600 million. The result was that 100,000 Detroiters lost their homes who probably shouldn’t have. A University of Chicago study found 65% of homes sold for under $35,000 were overassessed. Bernadette Atuahene, a professor at the University of Southern California Law School and executive director of the Institute for Law and Organizing, joined the show to discuss the issue and emergency resolutions passed by city council to remedy the issue.
- Beyonce’s new album just released. NPR’s Leila Fadel spoke with Francesca Royster, author of “Black Country Music,” about how Black artists have contributed to the genre and the barriers they’ve faced to be part of it.
- On Saturday, April 13, WDET and comedian Paula Poundstone are hosting an evening of comedy at the Flagstar Strand Theatre in Pontiac. “The Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” panelist joined the show to talk about the upcoming event.
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