This is part 2 of 3 posts about Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity’s 3rd Interfaith Dialogue, “Who Is Your Neighbor?” Read part I, “Interfaith Dialogue Focuses on Neighborliness.”
At the dialogue, held on the UCCS campus on Sunday, Feb. 4, as part of our observance of the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week Feb. 1-7, panelists representing four different faith traditions shared their experiences with housing and homeownership in El Paso County.
The panelists were
- Dick Conn, founding president of Temple Beit Torah
- Gilas, a future Pikes Peak Habitat homeowner who practices the Yarsani faith
- Janice, a future Pikes Peak Habitat homeowner and member of the Springs Reformed Church
- Kamel Elwazeir, former president of the Islamic Society of Colorado Springs.
The panelists offered a variety of perspectives and experiences, but all agreed that the cost of housing and homeownership in El Paso County is problematic.
“There exists a housing needs continuum, from homeless prevention to emergency shelter, to transitional housing, to permanent rental housing, and finally to homeownership,” noted Conn, who is former executive director of Partners in Housing. “And of course Habitat falls on that last part of the spectrum with affordable homeownership, which is wonderful.”
The two future Pikes Peak Habitat homeowners shared challenging experiences with the rental market.
“The place where I live right now, I’m not saying it’s horrible, honestly, but a couple of times they stole my son’s bike,” shared Gilas, who will live in a recycled home. Her home dedication is scheduled for March 24. “Last year I got bitten by three pit bull dogs so bad. So I always wanted to…find a better place, but I couldn’t afford this, being at that time I was a single mom. I couldn’t afford to live in a better place. My son, he’s 12, he wanted his own room, and I couldn’t afford that–to live in an apartment with two bedrooms.”
After a friend told her about Pikes Peak Habitat, “I applied and I got qualified for it,” Gilas said. “I find myself really lucky!”
Janice had similar struggles. When she moved to Colorado Springs with her youngest daughter, she tried to survive on a widow’s pension and retail wages. “It was a challenge to find anything affordable!” she said. When she began her current job, working in a high school kitchen, “I moved into an apartment, but I didn’t know the area,” she explained. “It was in a bad part of town, and we could hear gunshots almost nightly, and they stole all kinds of stuff off our patio–bikes, balls, lamps.”
She relocated to a mobile home vacated by a relative who was moving out of state. It was “in a better part of town,” she explained, “but the problem was it had a leaky roof, faulty furnace, bad plumbing, electrical issues, and mold in the bathroom.” She and her daughter still live there, but they struggle. “We freeze in the wintertime, and my pipes freeze about twice a year, and we have to do without water during that time,” Janice explained. “I spend a lot of money just to keep it functional and barely liveable. I mean, I spend thousands of dollars.”
When she learned she had been accepted into Pikes Peak Habitat’s homeownership program, Janice said, “I was so happy!” She had been “depressed, and I didn’t know where we were going to go or what we were going to do, but I knew that mobile home wasn’t going to last much longer!”
Elwazeir, who grew up in Qatar, had slightly different experiences. “I think I had it the easy way,” he said. “Since I moved in ’99, I had the pleasure to stay with a friend of mine, and as you know, coming fresh off the boat to the United States, not having credit, not having any knowledge about how the housing market worked, I stayed with my friend for awhile and then decided to go on my own. Because I didn’t have enough credit, that was one of the biggest challenges, so you either need a co-signer or you need to show that you have enough income.”
He explained that after working at Hewlett Packard for several years, starting a family, and “getting my status adjusted, then I was able to start looking for a house here in Colorado Springs, and we went through a mortgage, and I was lucky enough to be able to buy a house here in Colorado Springs in 2003.”
But he recognizes that the process is more challenging for many people. “Being part of the local mosque here and all the stories you hear about immigrants that come to the United States, some people, especially if they don’t speak the language, that’s the biggest hurdle,” he shared. “Of course they have to learn the language in order to be able to fill the paperwork and qualify and build their credit…so we hear all sorts of stories where it’s not that easy.”
How can community members help address the issue of affordable homeownership?
“I say get involved. Know about the decisions that are being taken in the city. That’s at the local level. Volunteer,” Elwazeir suggested. “Just educate yourself about what’s going on, so when it’s time for you to be part of the decision-making, you know where to go, and you know how to decide.”
Conn agreed. “First of all, I encourage everybody to get involved,” he said. “Learn about it. It’s complicated. Get involved. Get active. Nonprofits could use your help and expertise.”
Getting involved in Pikes Peak Habitat is a tangible way to support affordable homeownership in El Paso County for people like Gilas and Janice, who says, “I’m excited about having a sense of community! I’ve gotten to know my neighbors, and they’ve become my friends, and so I’m really excited about that.”
