New Habitat director: Jerry Ambris charges ahead in difficult times

By Jay Shenai

Ask Jerry Ambris what his favorite movie is and he will tell you without hesitation: Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.

The 27-year-old executive director of the North Willamette Valley affiliate of Habitat for Humanity says he can relate to the image of a face-painted William Wallace on horseback, sword in the air, rallying his troops to stand together and fight against overwhelming odds.

Especially when it comes to the daunting task of raising charitable donations during a recession. “He inspires them to believe that there’s a cause at hand,” he said. “When the odds are against us, we believe in something, and that’s really the goodness of our work.”

In that movie, Wallace is eventually captured and disemboweled by the English. That feeling Ambris says he also relates to, in light of recent foreclosure proceedings that placed Habitat in local news.

Since taking the helm of the Mt. Angel-based nonprofit home builder and Christian ministry this past July, Ambris has had to overcome the lingering impact of the current economic downturn.

Currently donations from churches and individuals have been down, he says, and are taking longer to come in. In order to provide houses for those in need, Habitat depends on charitable donations, especially from the faith and business communities.

It also depends on mortgage payments, which are collected directly by the nonprofit agency and put toward other homebuilding projects. There is a persistent misconception over Habitat’s objectives, Ambris says. Neighbors of Habitat projects often believe the homes are being donated outright to homeless families, he said. They often fear that crime and drugs, poverty and property depreciation will follow as a result.

“That’s not the way we work,” he said, “we don’t give handouts, we give a hand up.”

There is a specific vetting process for what Habitat calls “partner families,” whom local churches and civic charities assist in targeting. This includes a background check and an examination of credit reports and income-to-debt ratio. A Habitat committee ultimately recommends families for homes.

According to Ambris, it’s when that process is not thoroughly followed that trouble results. In late October, North Willamette Habitat for Humanity foreclosed on the Silverton home of Meri Hall, a single mother living with three children who had defaulted on her mortgage payments. News of the impending foreclosure quickly spread across the papers and local television news. The agency had formally requested a specific repayment plan in June, which Ambris says was never received. Hall, in an interview with the Statesman Journal, stated that she was waiting for a ruling on a disability claim.

It was only toward the end of the legal process, Ambris said, that Hall made contact with the agency. He says she declined to meet with Habitat attorneys, opting instead to involve the press. It was a situation he had inherited as executive director, but it was still gut-wrenching to endure as the home was auctioned on Oct. 20.

“It’s something that I was hoping we would never have to go through,” he said. Foreclosures are rare for Habitat homes: Less than one percent of mortgages go into default, he said.

In light of this incident, Ambris said he has received numerous phone calls and letters of support from the community, from volunteers, donors and business partners.

And he has a renewed appreciation for the systems and policies that ensure success for prospective partner families. To prevent a future foreclosure, Ambris said the selection process has been tightened, stricter requirements have been adopted and those who help select families have been instructed to follow the requirements more vigorously.

Whereas 2009 has been a year of growth and expanding services, 2010 will be a year of transition and organizational restructuring, Ambris said, to put more policies and procedures in place to accommodate a larger volunteer base and to limit the growing pains of expansion.

He also has learned to accept that Habitat can’t help everyone. Late mortgages eventually affect other projects that affect others in need. “In an economic time like this, that there are limitations before you really start to hurt other families,” he said.

A mixed blessing for Habitat, the recession has translated into increased revenue and donations at the organization’s ReStore, an ancillary business that sells donated materials and furnishings to local builders and do-it-yourselfers looking to save money on remodeling projects.

There is increased interest in Habitat’s fundraising auctions, as well, Ambris said, as the public, looking to cut down expenses, seeks out the goods and services that are donated to Habitat and often sold at great discounts.

It’s a busy time: A third homebuilding project, in Silverton, is slated for completion in February.  The ReStore continues to do a robust business and may possibly become the primary source of revenue for the agency in coming years, Ambris said. And there are plans to expand into Molalla, a real estate market now no longer prohibitively expensive for affordable housing.

It’s his passion for families and communities, that motivates Ambris, who was born and raised in Woodburn as one of seven children, to keep up with the pace of growth and change. That and unwavering faith in his organization.

“I have a great group of people around me,” he said. “The board is great, the volunteers are amazing, the churches and partnership businesses are great.”

“Even in this tough time, they’re hurting financially; they still find a way to donate.”