Our Mission

Habitat for Humanity of Sumner County, Tennessee Inc. (HFHSC) is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God's love into action by building homes, communities and hope. HFHSC is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission statement of Habitat for Humanity of Sumner County is: “Seeking to put God’s love into action, we bring people together to build homes, communities and hope.”

As a Christian non-profit housing agency located in Gallatin, Tennessee, we serve low-income families in Sumner County by building affordable, energy efficient homes for first-time homeowners and doing home repairs for seniors, disabled persons, and veterans. Our overall mission is to eliminate substandard housing in Sumner County.

PRINCIPLES

1. Demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ. We undertake our work to demonstrate the love and teachings of Jesus, acting in all ways in accord with the belief that God’s love and grace abound for all, and that we must be “hands and feet” of that love and grace in our world. We believe that, through faith, the miniscule can be multiplied to accomplish the magnificent, and that, in faith, respectful relationships can grow among all people.

2. Focus on shelter. We have chosen, as our means of manifesting God’s love, to create opportunities for all people to live in decent, durable shelter. We put faith into action by helping to build, renovate or preserve homes, and by partnering with others to accelerate and broaden access to affordable housing as a foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty.

3. Advocate for affordable housing. In response to the prophet Micah’s call to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God, we promote decent, affordable housing for all, and we support the global community’s commitment to housing as a basic human right. We will advocate for just and fair housing policy to eliminate the constraints that contribute to poverty housing. And, in all of our work, we will seek to put shelter on hearts and minds in such powerful ways that poverty housing becomes socially, politically and religiously unacceptable.

4. Promote dignity and hope. We believe that no one lives in dignity until everyone can live in dignity. We believe that every person has something to contribute and something to gain from creating communities in which all people have decent, affordable places to live. We believe that dignity and hope are best achieved through equitable, accountable partnerships.

5. Support sustainable and transformational development. We view our work as successful when it transforms lives and promotes positive and lasting social, economic and spiritual change within a community; when it is based on mutual trust and fully shared accomplishment; and when it demonstrates responsible stewardship of all resources entrusted to us.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a central component to Habitat for Humanity's historical and theological imperatives, from our foundations at Koinonia farm to our worldwide housing ministry today. The collections and resources featured on this page are designed to provide a contextual framework on DEI in our organization and offer resources on how to prioritize DEI in every facet of our work. DEI is a strategic priority for HFHI and an ongoing journey in partnership with our affiliated organizations. This page will be routinely updated with new language and resources in accordance with our DEI Strategic Framework and the evolving needs of our organization. Within the Habitat sphere, we define DEI as follows:

Diversity

Celebrating, representing and valuing the differences of those we work with and serve in communities around the world.

Equity

Creating processes and practices that ensure everyone involved gets what they need to achieve greater access and fairness in treatment and outcomes.

Inclusion

Committing to including the voices and needs of our diverse workforce, communities and residents to build hope and transform lives.

ALL ARE WELCOME

HFHSC has an open-door policy. All who believe that everyone needs a decent, affordable place to live are welcome to help with the work, regardless of race, religion, age, gender, political views or any of the other distinctions that too often divide people. In short, Habitat welcomes volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds and also serves people in need of decent housing regardless of race or religion. As a matter of policy, Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliated organizations do not proselytize. This means that Habitat will not offer assistance on the expressed or implied condition that people must either adhere to or convert to a particular faith, or listen and respond to messaging designed to induce conversion to a particular faith.