Our Mission is to actively support affordable housing.
In 1968, Raleigh Inter-Church Housing, RICH, was born with a dream to create low-cost housing for anyone of any race. Five churches shared this dream and worked together: Community United Church of Christ, Cosmopolitan Baptist Church, Davie Street Presbyterian Church, Wilmington Street First Baptist Church, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh (UUFR). RICH Park, which includes 100 apartment units, was built with HUD funding. They also started the Method Day Care Center, an affordable childcare center. It later transitioned to the Method Community Center, which serves children of all ages. The churches continue to provide support with four UUFR members on the Board of Directors.
For the last few years, the UUFR has partnered with Habitat Wake, a crucial leader in addressing the affordable housing crisis.
We help Habitat’s Interfaith Coalition build homes. Every year, adults and youth from the 25 coalition member congregations work together for a few weeks to build houses. Our younger volunteers make attic baffles to pass blessings to the new owners. Volunteers contributed thousands of construction hours to make these homes affordable.
When the houses are complete, Habitat holds a dedication ceremony. Five new homeowners were part of the November 2024 dedication.
The new owners were given the keys to their new homes, a Bible, and gifts from the Interfaith Coalition members. The UUFR stitchers group provided Afghans, another congregation gave quilts, and another gave a Quran and a prayer rug. After the ceremony, Jim Hurdis, the UUFR representative, walked through the neighborhood to see the completed homes that the UUFR teams had helped build. It was a good feeling to have been a part of making a home that not only provided shelter but also a sense of community and hope to the families who now call them their own.
In addition, we work with Habitat’s Advocacy Ambassador Program to engage local community members in promoting affordable housing and building inclusive neighborhoods through public education. We challenge stigmas while advocating for town and county funding.
In March, we will share opportunities to volunteer in the 2025 Spring Build.
If you would like to participate with our Habitat team, please send a message to .
