Honoring the brave men and women who served our country and our people.
Habitat for Humanity loves our veterans! Habitat for Humanity International's Veterans Build initiative provides volunteer, homeownership, and employment opportunities to U.S. veterans, military service members, and their families. Locally, we honor our veterans in a variety of ways.
Veteran Build Week
Each November, Habitat for Humanity Greater Salt Lake Area hosts a Veteran Build Week to pay tribute to veterans, raise awareness about veteran issues, and mobilize veteran volunteers. Details about this year's event will be posted closer to the event. Read about the 2023 Veteran Build here.
Facts About Veterans
The National Low Income Housing Coalition finds that 2.5 million veterans heading households are at least 55 years of age. Of those 2.5 million veterans, 24% have housing cost burdens. Unlike older civilians, our older veterans are more likely to have a disability — 35% versus 28% — which may require home modifications, specialized health needs, and other supportive services as they age.
Our female veteran population is also in need. According to a report by the National Housing Conference, nearly half of our veterans who are single mothers spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Our female veterans face significant economic and housing challenges and are particularly vulnerable to housing cost burdens compared with our overall veteran population.
Our veterans who served following 9/11 have returned to a slow-growing economy and rising housing costs. These economic factors have made the transition from military service to civilian life difficult for many of our veterans. In addition, nearly 4 million of our veterans pay at least 30% of their income toward rent or mortgage, while more than 1.5 million pay at least 50%. As you can imagine, using half of your income to pay your rent or mortgage is an enormous strain on any budget.
Local Veterans Initiatives
Homeownership
Safe, decent, and affordable housing is the centerpiece of the Veteran Build initiative. In many communities, we are expanding programs to maintain and preserve homes and make them more energy-efficient and affordable. Learn more about home ownership opportunities here.
Critical Home Repairs
In partnership with The Home Depot Foundation, Habitat for Humanity International developed the Repair Corps program to offer critical home repairs to military veteran homeowners. Our Critical Home Repair Program (CHiRP) is available to veterans with low to moderate incomes. Learn more and review the eligibility requirements here.
Employment
We value skill sets gained from your military service. We recruit veterans to work at Habitat as employees, board members, and AmeriCorps members. Check here to see job openings.
Volunteer engagement
We provide volunteer experiences that bring together veterans, military families, and their neighbors. These experiences help bridge the gap and ease the transition to civilian life with fulfilling community engagement.