One of the core purposes of Habitat for Humanity is to make the need for a decent, affordable place to live a matter of conscience for everyone. HFHMD strives to go beyond just building homes; we hope to also create more awareness for the desperate need by so many in our community for a stable and affordable place to live. It's a very real problem for thousands of families. But it isn't just families who benefit from a supply of affordable housing. The entire community benefits when people who work in that community, including taxi drivers, social workers, retail employees, and others can afford to live there. If they can't, they commute greater distances, causing pollution and transportation problems. In addition, the ability to attract and keep businesses and jobs is directly linked to the availability of affordable housing for employees. All of us pay more for healthcare and car insurance when people can't afford it because their high cost of housing consumes too much of their income. Schools also suffer from an unstable population of students whose parents move frequently in search of better and cheaper housing.