Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County
Project: Critical Home Repair Program
Request: $15,000
Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County is best known for building houses. Its Critical Home Repair Program does something quieter and equally important: it keeps people in the houses they already have.
The program and it’s partners help with heating and cooling systems, clean water and sewage systems, roof repairs and replacements, exterior painting and protective measures that stop a house from deteriorating further, and accessibility improvements like ramps, handrails, grab bars and accessible entrances. The goal is that a resident can stay safely, securely and independently in their home for at least five years after the work is done.
Who this serves
The program works throughout Jefferson County with an emphasis on South County. During the 2026 program period, 14 households received critical repairs representing $130,589 invested in repairs.
Every participating household faced significant financial hardship. The average income among those served was 38.5% of Area Median Income. For many, financial strain was compounded by disability, advanced age, limited transportation, and limited means of communication.
One 2026 example: three elderly South County residents who live together to pool resources and support each other as they age in place. Their heating system had stopped working, and they relied on space heaters in their bedrooms, often staying confined to those rooms through the cold months. Their exterior deck had rotted badly — one resident had fallen through the boards and injured her leg, and another, who uses a wheelchair, had stopped using the deck entirely out of fear.
Here are the problems you can help solve
Homeownership reads as security. For a low-income household it can be the opposite, because a home generates expenses that arrive all at once and without warning. A failed water heater, a leaking roof, a heating system that gives out in November. None of these can be paid off gradually, nor do they get cheaper while a household saves. So they don't get fixed, and conditions become unsafe, then uninhabitable, and a homeowner who was housed becomes a homelessness statistic.
Costs are moving the wrong way, too. Inflation, higher interest rates and rising construction material prices have significantly increased the cost of every repair Habitat performs, while demand (particularly in the county's more remote communities) keeps growing.
What your donation makes possible
Funding goes primarily to building materials: roofing, plumbing, cabinets and countertops, subflooring, vinyl floors and the rest of the list a repair actually requires. It also covers outreach, home assessments, income verification and homeowner support.
The program aims to complete 15 critical home repair projects in 2027, focused on South Jefferson County and communities outside Port Townsend.
The bottom line
Every repair preserves an existing unit of affordable housing — which is far cheaper than creating one. It prevents displacement, keeps a neighborhood intact, and reduces future demand on housing, healthcare, social services and crisis assistance.
Your donation buys a roof, a furnace, or a ramp. What it prevents is someone losing their home over a repair they couldn't afford.
