Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

Engaging Foundational Black Households

Introduction

Engaging Foundational Black Households was an 8-month evaluation and assessment project that began in the fall of 2020. The project was led by Research in Action (RIA) for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (Habitat). The objective was to analyse how well Habitat’s homeownership and financial coaching programs have served foundational Black households (defined as U.S. descendants of enslaved African people).

Equity in Action Process

Using its Equity in Action Process Model (Figure 1), RIA assisted Habitat in moving beyond the limits of high level quantitative data findings by conducting an in-depth qualitative evaluative data analysis. This helped Habitat understand how to operationalize its strategic plan by identifying what prohibits foundational Black households from achieving their goal of homeownership through Habitat’s financial coaching program. The Equity in Action model relies on the development of reciprocal relationships that recenters community voices and convenes a table of diverse stakeholders. It serves as a way to identify institutional harms, pain points, impacted partnerships, stakeholder goals and interests, in addition to developing a shared understanding of history and context.

The model is a six-step process that begins with assessing the project landscape and creating a community advisory and/or action committee (in this case, the Habitat Black Homeownership Advisory Committee - discussed below). The selection and appointment of an advisory committee is followed by co-development of mixed methods, tools, and approaches, which is then followed by data collection and shared meaning-making. The Engaging Foundational Black Households project utilized advisory and participant surveys, participant focus groups, and a community data walk. The next step in the process is to redefine the issues and co-produce winnable policy and practice solutions. The final step is to disseminate findings in a manner that supports authentic community engagement.

 

Establishing the Habitat Black Homeownership Advisory Committee

  • RIA collaborated with Habitat to create the selection criteria, goals, and expectations for committee members, as well as develop the language for outreach. Habitat conducted outreach by inviting a selection of current and past program participants to serve on the advisory committee, detailing the commitment, requirements, and benefits of serving.

  • Together, RIA and Habitat identified ten members to serve on the Habitat Black Homeownership Advisory Committee which was composed of a diverse cohort of five impacted foundational Black households that participated in Habitat’s programs (referred to as community advisory committee members) and five members from Habitat staff.

  • The community advisory committee members were selected because of their varying perspectives and experiences from participating in Habitat programs. The community advisory committee members represented a variety of household sizes, incomes, and tenure. They also varied in level of program participation and pathways to homeownership, and each expressed a commitment to reducing racial disparities for Black families.