About Us - Need

Montgomery County is a great place to live.

About
© Steven Hacker Located less than 20 miles from nearby Philadelphia, Mont Co has a variety of communities suited to people of all ages and backgrounds. Within a short commute on a ride on a sophisticated transit system to major metro centers with high-paying wages, some of the best healthcare in the country, cultural and sporting events, and the rolling hills of PA, Montgomery County is ideally situated. Currently though, our county does not given equal access to homeownership opportunities.

With the average price of a single family home having increased 238 percent over the last several years to an average of $401,000 in some communities, many of our working families and seniors cannot afford to live here.

In the region, women and children are at particular disadvantage in the housing market. 1 in 3 families headed by women live in poverty and cannot afford a simple, safe, decent home. "Safe, stable affordable housing is central to economic security for women and their families. Having a place to live impacts women's employment and educational opportunities as well as children's health, schooling, and well-being. Access to housing is also a lifeline for many survivors of domestic violence, yet affordable housing is in short supply." (A Change of Pace, Update 08, A Women's Way Publication). Since 77% of our homeowners and 55% of current applicants are single women with children under 18, this is a concerning and problematic trend for Habitat.

  • 32,215 people (more than 5,400 families) in Montgomery County live below the poverty line.
  • 5,700 homes in our community have been deemed substandard due to leaky roofs, inadequate heating, faulty electricity or plumbing, poor infrastructure, or infestations of rodents/cockroaches/skunks.  Most of these homes are inhabited.
  • 33% local families pay more than one-third of their incomes towards housing costs.
  • 1 in 190 men, women and children in the US used the shelter or transitional housing system in 2008* (according to the US HUD Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress 2008).
  • A minimum wage worker would need to work 100 hours per week to afford a 2 bedroom apartment here in Montgomery County, where housing costs are 85% higher than the state median.