AUSTIN, Texas — At the steps of the Texas State Capitol Wednesday morning, Habitat for Humanity Texas started building a home for a Lubbock family in need.
Each year, Habitat for Humanity holds a Capitol Build project, where they start constructing the walls for a home in front of the Capitol. It’s the group's way of sending a message to lawmakers that they want more affordable housing options in Texas.
“We think it’s important for the folks who work inside of these walls to understand that decent, affordable housing is an issue, and people need it,” Shelia Petterson Harris, a Lubbock City Council member, said.
In January, House Bill 1058 went into effect, which offers low-income housing tax credits for certain housing developments. But Habitat for Humanity said it will still fight for additional legislation that allows more Texans to become homeowners.
Leaders with Habitat for Humanity said there’s now a large gap between price and affordability of homes in Texas. According to data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there are 906,885 extremely low-income renter households in Texas, but only 227,584 affordable and available rental homes.
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Vanessa Lopez Spruell, who used to be homeless with her five grandchildren in Austin, is one of those householders.
“I would take my girls to the 7-Eleven here in Austin and wipe them down and all that, you know. The lady at 7-Eleven would give them a sandwich. But now, it’s not like that no more. We got a home cooked meal,” Spruell said.
Spruell and her family were the recipients of the Capitol Build home in 2022, and since then, all of their lives have completely turned around. All of Spruell's granddaughters, including one who is in special education, are honor roll students and already have ambitions for their futures at such a young age.
“They showed the girls that they can live, they can be comfortable, they can be entrepreneurs one day,” Spruell said.
It’s that transformational moment that keeps volunteers with Habitat for Humanity coming back to build these homes.
“That’s what you do it for, I mean, when they finally get the keys to move into their own house, that’s really the whole point,” Trad Clements, a staff member with Habitat for Humanity, said. “It makes a whole total difference for them, their children and the whole community.”
On Wednesday, volunteers put together 55 walls, which will now be transported to Lubbock. In six to eight months, a family will be walking through the doors of their new home and new life.
Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.