With a commitment to serving their community, members of the military community came together to help Habitat for Humanity Portland Region build homes in Hillsboro this past month. Military Community Build Day, part of Habitat’s Community Days series, drew current and former service men and women, with shared experiences and backgrounds, for a busy day at Habitat’s Century Commons. 

For Joe, who serves in the Army reserves and works for the Army Corps of Engineers, Veterans Build Day was an opportunity to work alongside other veterans, and to apply his experience in construction. It was his first time volunteering with Habitat. 

“There’s an inherent bond,” said Joe, who has been deployed twice, to Afghanistan and the Middle East. “It’s always good to be able to work with other veterans.” 

Connor has been in the Army Reserves for about 12 years, and this was his first time volunteering with Habitat, too. He said it was an opportunity to meet other people. “It’s cool to talk to other people from different services,” Connor said. 

Habitat hosted the military build on Nov. 9, to coincide with the remembrance of Veterans Day on Nov. 11. 

“Volunteerism is really important to me; giving back to the community,” said CJ, a Navy reservist and a police officer. She’s also a first generation Laotian American, her family having immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. “Family and community are very important to me, and I try to do what I can to give back, not expecting anything in return. It’s just doing the good thing.” 

Military Build events are a core initiative with Habitat for Humanity International, which focuses on volunteering, homeownership, and employment opportunities. Habitat also partners with the Home Depot Foundation to support our Home Repair Program, which provides critical home repair to military veteran homeowners. 

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 our older civilians, our older veterans are more likely to have a disability — 35% versus 28% — which may require home modifications, health, and other supportive services as they age. 

Across the country, service members face challenges to homeownership, which is considered a primary wealth builder in the United States. The 2021 homeownership rate for active-duty service member households was just 41 percent, compared with 64.5 percent for the general population, according to the Urban Institute’s 2024 report on veteran homeownership. 

The report finds two primary reasons for this gap: The frequency of moving due to deployments, and the age of service members. Not surprisingly, the mobility rate among active-duty service members, which measures the share of people moving from their primary residence within the past year, is four times that of the general population. And active service members tend to be younger than the general population. 

The VA offers home loans to veterans with significant advantages over other types of loans, but home shoppers of all stripes are up against a competitive marketplace. More than 1.5 million veterans pay at least 50% of their household income on housing costs, and according to a report by the National Housing Conference, nearly half of our veterans who are single mothers are considered cost burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. 

Habitat is honored to partner with active and retired service members across the Portland region. Look for future opportunities to volunteer with Habitat on our website – https://habitatportlandregion.org/volunteer/