Watauga County Habitat for Humanity and Lowe’s to address
COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on women during International Women Build
Week
Boone,
NC- March 8th, 2021– Watauga County Habitat for
Humanity and Lowe’s are partnering to raise awareness of the global need for
safe and affordable housing for women during International Women Build Week (March 8-15). On International Women’s Day, Habitat
and Lowe’s will kick off more than 300 Women Build projects supporting
women-led households across the United States, Canada, and India to drive
awareness and address the need. Watauga Habitat for Humanity is hosting a
virtual event on Wednesday, March 8th called Women Build Trivia
Night. Those interested in participating can visit appbuildsahome.appstate.edu
to learn more and register for this free event.
Women have been disproportionately
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, from job loss to evictions and foreclosures.
According to The National Women’s Law Center, 80 percent
of U.S. jobs lost during the COVID-19 pandemic were held by women. The United
Nations (UN) has reported
that 40 percent of all employed women globally work in the industries hardest
hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Working women and mothers often
shoulder the role of primary caregivers for their family”, said Allison
Jennings, Director of Development for Watauga Habitat. “COVID-19 has working
moms now bearing the brunt of homeschooling and having to balance work and
childcare. All parents are the unsung
(s)heroes in this crisis, however the pandemic has uniquely affected women as
they juggle work and childcare.”
Despite the
unprecedented challenges women are facing, women remain on the
frontlines of the pandemic as essential workers, as caretakers within
their households, and too often have to make the difficult decision
between maintaining a place to call home and paying for food, health care,
childcare, education or reliable transportation. Harvard
University’s State of the Nation’s Housing 2020 report
revealed that 37.1 million U.S. households spent more than 30 percent of their
incomes on housing in 2019, including 17.6 million spending more than 50
percent. The effects of the pandemic have further highlighted the need for safe
and affordable housing, as 29 percent of renters and 36 percent of homeowners
experienced employment income loss between March and September of 2020.
This month, Watauga Habitat for Humanity will begin building
a home for Sheila Potter in the Meat Camp Community. Although she owns her own
land, new home construction in Watauga County is often not affordable for a
single woman with one income. Watauga Habitat will offer Sheila the opportunity
to pay for her home with a zero-interest, affordable loan. This home is being built in partnership with
App Builds a
Home.
Sheila’s story is not unique. Every day, millions of women
face the challenge of a future without affordable, adequate and stable housing.
This issue underscores the importance of Habitat and Lowe’s efforts to bring
awareness to the issue, as well as a partnership focused on ensuring that more
women have access to affordable housing.
Lowe’s and Habitat’s partnership began in 2003. To date, the
program has brought together more than 143,000 women volunteers who have built
or repaired nearly 6,000 houses. Lowe’s has committed more than $78 million to
support the global housing nonprofit’s efforts, including the Women
Build program, International Women Build Week,
and Habitat’s Neighborhood
Revitalization program. Lowe’s support of Habitat has
helped more than 18,000 Habitat partner families improve their living conditions.
To learn more or join the conversation, visit habitat.org/womenbuild
or follow #BuildHer and #WomenBuild on social media to share
and view stories from around the world.
