World Habitat Day: Helping Frame a Home and Better Life

HUD Helping Frame a Home and Better Life for Atlanta Homeowner

On World Habitat Day: (http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=669) October 6, in Atlanta almost a dozen HUD Atlanta Regional team members along with other local area volunteers joined hands to help frame interior and exterior walls for an excited new homeowner. The construction volunteers received first-hand knowledge of the construction process and learned about the green building practices that Atlanta Habitat for Humanity has used since 2004.

HUD Southeast Region, Regional Administrator, Ed Jennings, Jr. congratulated Atlanta Habitat for Humanity: (http://www.atlantahabitat.org/) President and CEO, Larrie Del Martin, for the organization's 28 years of service and recognized Ms. Kimber for working so hard in achieving her dreams finally of home ownership. Jennings also like thanked each of the HUD team members and other volunteers for their contributions for making Ms. Kimber's dream come true.

Over the last few years HUD's Atlanta Regional Office and Atlanta Habitat for Humanity worked both symbolically and supportively together during World Habitat Day to help an Atlanta homeowner. Atlanta Habitat for Humanity is one of more than 1,500 U.S. affiliates of Habitat for Humanity International and is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing affordable housing to working families. To date, Atlanta Habitat has built more than 1,100 homes in the city of Atlanta: (http://www.atlantaga.gov/) and the metropolitan area.

In 1985 the United Nations General Assembly declared "World Habitat Day" as the first Monday of October. Celebration of World Habitat Day calls attention to the global need for decent housing and pushes for adequate housing for all on a global scale. This year's World Habitat Day theme is "Housing cities after disaster." (http://www.habitat.org/gov/take_action/shelter_report_2012.aspx). In recognition of World Habitat Day and work Habitat for Humanity has done to alleviate poverty housing, Habitat will dedicate its 500,000th house in Maai Mahiu, Kenya, and raise the walls on its 500,001st house in Princeton, New Jersey.

World Habitat Day

On Oct. 5, 2009, housing providers and advocates from throughout the world joined UN-HABITAT, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, The Rockefeller Foundation: (http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/), Habitat for Humanity: (http://www.habitat.org/) and others at the National Building Museum: (http://www.nbm.org/) in Washington D.C. to mark World Habitat Day.

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov.

You can also follow HUD Southeast Region IV on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/HUDSoutheast and HUD on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.

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