If a person can’t swing a hammer or lift a 2×4, how can he/she help Habitat For Humanity? That’s a question I asked myself time and time again. Until, one day, I learned there are plenty of ways to give my time without hurting my back or aggravating my shoulder.

The answer turned out to be the Family Selection Committee. That’s the process Habitat for Humanity uses to screen families for their home ownership program. At first, I thought “what a daunting process for families to commit to.” That’s a natural response for someone who doesn’t know the process or the families. Nonetheless, I dove in to learn what I needed to know to “select families.”

There are rules and regulations a person needs to know before walking families through the homeownership process. So, every member of the Family Selection Committee attends formal trainings. My first meeting was a training on Fair Housing. I walked in to a room full of people ready to hear exactly how Fair Housing works. It was comforting to see so many people (maybe 50) ready to commit just like I was. After an icebreaker, we hit the PowerPoint presentation to learn the ins and outs of our nation’s housing rules. It turns out, there are a lot of them. I was starting to think maybe I could just strengthen my back and do some exercises to improve my shoulder. You know, so I could lift a hammer and place a 2×4. Alas, that was not to be.

Four more trainings followed on topics from the legal aspects of homeownership to Habitat’s criteria for homeowner selection. Then just 2 more orientation meetings and I was ready to face the families.

I still remember the first family orientation day. I wasn’t sure what to expect. After all I’d learned about what is expected of would-be Habitat families, I had no idea how the day would go. Remember, from what I’d learned, the process seemed really daunting.

I quickly learned the families don’t seem to mind the daunting nature of the process. In fact, they’re excited about it. It’s a lot of work to gather necessary documents; work history, tax information, letters from a landlord, citizenship documentation. The list goes on and on. But, that’s ok. The Family Selection Committee is there to make that process a little easier, less daunting.

Stay tuned next week for another exciting episode of the Family Selection Committee, “Jonah and Stacy M and Their Giant Stack of Papers”!

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