Week 1: Introduction

Over the past 25 years, Christ Church has partnered with Habitat for Humanity through build days, West Virginia Mission trips, Rake-a-thons and Community Conversations dinners. Like all organizations, the pandemic has led Habitat to reimagine its volunteer model to reflect pandemic protocols. Given that reality, in 2020, Christ Church pledged $100,000 to Habitat for Humanity's capital campaign to increase affordable housing in Charlottesville and the surrounding counties. 

Charlottesville has a less than 1% vacancy rate and the city has some of the highest property values per capita in the nation. Moreover, a city of approximately 16,000 residences, the need exists for 4,000 new housing interventions. These statistics make affordable housing and workforce housing indispensable for families. 

Recognizing that housing is a fundamental part of community well-being, Habitat for Humanity works in Charlottesville to address these vital needs. For the next six weeks, we will expand on Habitat's mission by "myth-busting" several myths that often circulate regarding the organization's work. We will do this by featuring a family story and providing a short video to go along with each story. 

To begin, we will feature two short films: An Introduction To Charlottesville's  Habitat Chapter and Segregated By Design. The latter film is helpful for context, as the film examines the forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy.  

Please join along each week to learn more about the incredible work of Habitat for Humanity in our community.  

Ever Yours,

Paul Walker

Video One:

Video Two: