By Marian Pontz
Allyson Davis, director of family services for Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity, greets me outside of their new ReStore shop (located at 1061 Manheim Pike, Lancaster). As I looked around, I was surprised to see a wide array of gently-used furniture, art, building supplies, and more. Sometimes when a business closes, Davis explains, the owners donate all of their stock to the ReStore. This new building looks less like a warehouse and more like an IKEA.
In the hour or so I spent speaking with Davis, I learned that there is an incredible collection of dedicated professionals – all of whom wear a number of hats – working long beyond their workday to meet deadlines here at the Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity. As she meets me, Davis apologizes for the white paint on her, which is the same white paint used in every Habitat home, donated by Valspar. “After work yesterday, I spent time painting homes in Columbia, Penn. that are being inspected on Thursday,” Davis tells me. “We’re all pitching in to complete the project.”
These Columbia-based homes will be purchased by families from Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and the Dominican Republic. “There is a misunderstanding that people are given homes,” Davis says. “That is not true. They pay a 1-percent down payment, pay a mortgage, and will work between 250-400 hours preparing their home.”
Davis explains that these future homeowners often work two or three jobs, care for children and older family members, and still put in their required hours. Sometimes, home buyers enjoy the process so much that they choose to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and help build others’ homes.
For Davis, every detail matters — from the details, information, and paperwork needed to qualify for a home, to move-in day when recipients are greeted with a big red bow on the door and fresh flowers. Davis even hangs a ‘welcome to your new home’ sign, written in the language of the homeowners.
Finding homes to rehab for Habitat applicants has become increasingly difficult. “Even condemned buildings are now going for $80,000,” Davis shares.
In January 2023, the application to purchase a Habitat home opened. The process is grueling. In just five days, they received 115 applications. Their in-office team receives at least three to five inquiries each day.
In reality, a number of applicants will not be accepted because they do not provide the required paperwork. From that 115, 27 applications were accepted; the application window for Lancaster will likely not open again until January 2026. However, Davis is excited to share that housing is easier to attain in Lebanon County, and she expects application opportunities in Lebanon to open sooner than two years.
The staff’s passion for their work is obvious. Davis shares that, after earning a degree in international business and Spanish, she worked in the corporate world post-grad; however, she found her work to be “meaningless.”
“I always wanted to work for a non-profit,” she says. “I just had to find the right one for me. My husband works for an environmental non-profit [Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay], and I have done this for six years. We are not making a lot of money, but we love what we do.”
It takes 2,500 volunteers to build one Habitat for Humanity house. It’s a slow and expensive process, which is made even more difficult in today’s housing market – where housing shortages abound, rents and interest rates soar, and expectations for landlords to care for their properties and tenants are almost non-existent. Yet Davis does not appear overwhelmed or defeated. She is a vibrant powerhouse of change – someone who knows that every day, she is helping a deserving, hard-working family find safe, clean, and secure housing. She is helping families find their homes.
Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity will be at the Gifts That Give Hope Alternative Gift Fair on Sunday, December 1, 2024. Their team looks forward to answering your questions and sharing many more stories of success, as well as volunteer opportunities.
