Shortages of affordable housing are a long-standing challenge in Mississippi, and with material and labor costs rising, many families get priced out of making the necessary repairs needed to keep their homes safe. Oxford-Lafayette Fuller Center for Housing is working hard to change that in the surrounding county. The team works to construct affordable housing and partners with the community and its recipients to provide safe and affordable housing.
Oxford-Lafayette Fuller Center for Housing has been serving Lafayette count since 1997, building 17 homes under the umbrella of Habitat for Humanity. In 2022, the team transitioned to become a covenant partner with the Fuller Center for Housing. Faith-driven and Christ-centered, the Fuller Center for Housing promotes collaborative and innovative partnerships with individuals and organizations in an unrelenting quest to provide adequate shelter for all people in need worldwide.
“We build and repair homes in partnership with families who need a hand up, not just a handout,” shared Clint Williford, President of Oxford-Lafayette Fuller Center for Housing. “We are a locally owned and independent covenant partner, and most people know housing is expensive and repairs cost a lot, and we want to help people in that.”
Making significant repairs sets them apart from organizations focused on new home builds and can be cost-effective and just as helpful as providing a brand-new home.
“Most homeowners would think repairs needed are from poor maintenance like a leaky pipe or peeling paint,” shared Williford. “But, what we are talking about is leaking roofs, collapsing sheet rock ceilings, floors that are subsiding and falling out under their feet, and if we didn’t intervene, those houses would become uninhabitable, and those families would become homeless.”
Thanks to local donors, businesses, and churches who donate their time, talents, materials, and money, Oxford-Lafayette Fuller Center for Housing can do major repairs for a fraction of the cost.
“When we come in and repair a home,” explained Williford. “We are saving a house, a family’s home, and that helps the immediate family and the neighborhood and surrounding community to be more stabilized.”
Since the number of repair needs is significant, Oxford-Lafayette Fuller Center for Housing has established an application process that gets reviewed by a committee. The team prioritizes and takes care of the emergencies first.
“The need is great, beyond our resources,” shared Williford. “But we try and make a serious dent to repair as many as possible in a year.”
Oxford-Lafayette Fuller Center for Housing is also building new homes for residents in need.
“We are building a home in the Brittany Woods Subdivision in Oxford,” said Williford. “An employee of the University Police Department will own this house.”
An army of volunteers from all across the nation and Lafayette County will be in Oxford in April to construct this, from the foundation to near completion, in a week. The home’s future owner will contribute up to 500 hours of “sweat equity” and assume all mortgage responsibilities when they take possession of the property.
“We simply couldn’t do what we do with our volunteers and supporters,” shared Williford.
In Mississippi, there are eight convenient partners of the Fuller Center for Housing: Clarksdale, Farrel-Sherard, Greenwood / Leflore, Houston, Leland, Marshall County, Pike County, and Oxford-Lafayette.
