NEW ORLEANS (press release) — Throughout the month of June, nearly 150 members of the New Orleans LGBTQ+ community and its allies partnered with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity to build a home for a hard-working New Orleans family, and to celebrate New Orleans LGBTQ+ homeowners in recognition of Pride Month. This year’s build in the Lower 9th Ward took place over the course of three weekends in June, raising $30,000 to help with construction costs for this home.
“Too many in the LGBTQ+ community know the difficulty of finding affordable housing and the obstacles to first-time home ownership,” said NOAHH Chief Advancement Officer Jay Huffstatler. “That’s why we invited the city’s strong and diverse LGBTQ+ community and allies to partner with Habitat and provide an affordable home ownership opportunity for a local family.”
The house built during Pride Build will be purchased by Diamanika Moss, a single mom to her 9-year-old daughter Dakota. What makes Habitat home ownership affordable is that Habitat acts as the lender and charges no interest. Instead of a cash down payment, all Habitat homebuyers log more than 250 volunteer hours on Habitat construction sites or in the ReStore helping others become first-time homebuyers.
Gold sponsors for this year’s Pride Build included Entergy, Frances Lucas Consulting, the Gulf South LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, and the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans.
LGBTQ+ Pride Month is celebrated every June to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other queer individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally. New Orleans Pride events took place throughout the month of June, with Pride Weekend on June 9-11.
