Volunteers work on a house at Evergreen Habitat for Humanity’s Johnson Village subdivision in east Vancouver. (Photo contributed by Evergreen Habitat for Humanity)Photo Gallery
Evergreen Habitat for Humanity has added more affordable homes to Clark County’s housing landscape.
Earlier this month, Evergreen Habitat for Humanity celebrated the first three houses completed at its Johnson Village subdivision, located off Northeast 162nd Avenue and 34th Street in east Vancouver. At the Nov. 12 ceremony, community members and the families who will soon move in got a first look at the homes.
Once completed, Johnson Village will have nine houses for low-income families. To qualify for the housing, a household must be low-income, which is 35 percent to 60 percent of the Clark County median income.
The project is named after two founding members of Evergreen Habitat for Humanity, Ray and Harriet Johnson. In the early 1990s, the pair were part of a group of volunteers who met in a church basement to found the housing ministry in Clark County.
The subdivision’s infrastructure began in fall 2021 with construction kicking off in winter 2022.
The nonprofit anticipates the remaining houses will be completed in 2024.
Detailed in a recent report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for every 100 low-income renters in Clark County, only 22 affordable homes exist. And as affordable living conditions become out of reach for many residents, homelessness in the community continues to grow.
Last year, more than 9,000 Clark County residents experienced some type of houselessness. Council for the Homeless — which collected the data on the unhoused population — said cost of living, high rent prices and lack of affordable homes were the leading contributors.
“With rising cost of housing, not only in our local community but nationwide, (the) crisis that we are experiencing — our mission is to create a safe and stable support for families to thrive not only for this generation but also generations to come,” said Leah Middleton, marketing and development coordinator for Evergreen Habitat for Humanity.
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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