Because of This House

In 2021, with the generous funding from organizations and municipalities, we were able to launch a Critical Home Repair Program. It's designed to assist homeowners in Winnebago County with repairs that would enable and empower them to continue living in their homes long-term. In this episode, we talk to Sarah Brinkmann with the City of Rockford about the critical need for this program.

In this episode, we talk to one of our homeowners, Tikisha Ellis. She talks about her dreams of owning a home and her own business,  Works of Faith.

After a brief hiatus, Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity's podcast "Because of This House" is back!

This episode is part one of our two-part educational series exploring the history and effects of housing discrimination. Two guests join us for this episode-- Ron Clewer, Illinois Market President at Gorman & Company, and Eric Brown, Systems Advocacy Coordinator at RAMP. 

Here are a few links to more resources that we mention throughout the episode: 

Hi everyone! We know it's been awhile, but we have an update for you. In the next month or two, we'll be releasing a two-part educational series on housing discrimination. After that, we'll be taking a break for a bit since we are transitioning to a new host for Because of This House. Thank you as always for listening, and we can't wait to bring you more episodes in the future! 

We just wanted to take a moment to thank all of our listeners who have engaged with Because of This House this year! We are deeply grateful for your support, and we can't wait to continue to share new episodes with you in the future. We'll be taking a break over the next couple of months to work on some new ideas. While you wait for us to return, catch up on the episodes you've missed, leave ratings, leave reviews, and share this podcast with your friends. Thanks again-- we'll see you in 2022!

Charae, a 2021 Habitat homebuyer (and now homeowner!), has been waiting for her Habitat home since 2019. Due to setbacks caused by the pandemic, she has had to persevere through a lot of ups and downs, but this year, her home was finally completed. In this conversation with Charae, we discuss what this house means to her family, what the path to homeownership was like along the way, and what she and her kids are most looking forward to about their new home. 

Since we recorded this episode, Charae and her family have moved into their finished Habitat home-- just in time for Christmas. 

For more information about Habitat's homeownership process, visit rockfordhabitat.org.

In this episode, we are joined by Gary Ecklund and Stanley Campbell, two of the original members of Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity’s first board of directors. Gary and Stanley share about the beginning of Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity back in 1988, and what it’s been like to see the organization grow over the years. Please note that a lot of our policies and capacity as an organization have evolved, changed, and expanded over time, so not everything that Gary and Stanley share is consistent with Habitat today. However, learning about our history helps us to see where we’ve come from, and reminds us where we’d like to go. Thank you, Gary and Stanley, for being our guests—we appreciate you and the many ways that you’ve supported Habitat over the years.

Longtime volunteer John Hargrove shares all about the Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity ReStore, its mission, and what makes the store so unique. He also tells some pretty interesting stories about a few of the items that he's seen at the store-- including one donation of 500 brand new toilets (because why not) and another donation of a valuable painting. 

To connect with the ReStore, visit rockfordhabitat.org and click on the ReStore tab, like us on Facebook (@ReStoreRockford), follow us on Instagram (@restorerockford), or follow us on TikTok (@rockfordhabitat1988).

For the past few years, through a partnership between Habitat and Rockford Public Schools, construction students from two local high schools have built Habitat homes from the ground up. This opportunity is not only a unique, hands-on learning experience for the students, but it also builds homes for local families pursuing homeownership through Habitat. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Ehren Jarrett, the superintendent of Rockford Public Schools, to discuss how this partnership has impacted the school district and the entire community. 

To keep up with what's happening at Rockford Public Schools, check out their blog here: https://www.rps205.com/205vibe/205-vibe-blog