Habitat for Humanity of Ouachita is a locally run affiliate in good standing of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with God's people in need to build decent, affordable housing. These houses are then sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charges.

Volunteers provide most of the labor plus individual and corporate donors provide money and materials to build Habitat houses.  Partner families themselves invest hundreds of hours of labor - "sweat equity" - into building their homes and the homes of others. Their mortgage payments go into a revolving Fund for Humanity that is used to build more Habitat houses.

Near the end of 2007, several ULM technical writing students administered a survey to a sample of our Habitat partner families as a Service-Learning Project.  Fifty percent of those surveyed indicated an increase in voting, volunteerism, and involvement with chruch related activities.  Seventy five percent indicated an increase in involvemet with the school. One hundred percent indicated they feel safer.  The positive changes in the Habitat home residents' everyday life include: spending more time with their family, feeling safer in their new neighborhood, knowing their children can play safely outdoors, and having lower utility payments.

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