In this issue:
Building Hope and Expanding Reach: HomeAid's Momentum in 2026
HomeAid Celebrates Launch of its 20th Affiliate
Ways to Give - We invite you partner with HomeAid and give the Gift of Hope
Term of the Month: Essentials Kit
HomeAid Podcast: Unsheltered Conversations - New Episodes Available
Recommended Reading: Design With Love: At Home in America by Katie Swenson
Builder and Developer - HomeAid America
HomeAid Closure for Holiday Season
HomeAid Partners
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Building Hope, Expanding Reach: HomeAid’s Momentum into 2026
As 2025 comes to a close, I am filled with gratitude and optimism for the work HomeAid continues to lead across the country. This past year has been one of meaningful progress, measured not just in numbers, but in lives changed and futures rebuilt.
From the dedication of our affiliates and builder partners to the generosity of donors and volunteers, HomeAid’s national movement continues to demonstrate what’s possible when the building industry and the nonprofit community unite with purpose. HomeAid remains the only national organization of its kind, leveraging the expertise, efficiency, and heart of the building industry to address homelessness through construction, community engagement, and education.
2025: A Year of Impact
Since our founding in 1989, HomeAid and its 19 affiliates have completed more than 1,500 housing and shelter projects valued at over $355 million, generating more than $157 million in cost savings through in-kind donations of professional services, labor, and materials. These projects have created 16,000 beds and provided housing and support to over 1.4 million individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Behind every number are stories of lives restored, families finding stability, young people aging out of foster care discovering independence, and veterans rebuilding their dignity through the gift of a home. Each project is a tangible reminder that housing is more than shelter—it is the foundation for opportunity, belonging, and hope.
Affiliate Expansion: Welcoming HomeAid Delaware Valley
One of the highlights of 2025 was expanding our reach into new communities. This fall, we launched HomeAid Delaware Valley, serving the Greater Philadelphia, South Jersey, and Northern Delaware region.
This milestone reflects our vision of ensuring that every major region of the country has a HomeAid presence, building on the success of HomeAid Georgia’s statewide expansion and the establishment of HomeAid North Texas earlier this year. Each new affiliate strengthens our network’s ability to respond locally while advancing a unified national mission of building a future without homelessness.
Amplifying Awareness Through Conversation
Education and storytelling are vital to shifting perspectives on homelessness. In 2025, we launched Unsheltered Conversations, a national podcast hosted by HomeAid America that brings together thought leaders, builders, and nonprofit innovators to explore the human side of homelessness.
These candid conversations share the stories of those overcoming hardship and the partners making real change happen. Early episodes have spotlighted solutions emerging from HomeAid projects across the country, emphasizing that progress is possible when compassion meets collaboration.
Looking Ahead: A Vision for 2026 and Beyond
As we move into 2026, HomeAid’s focus remains on expanding impact through our three pillars: Construction, Community Engagement, and Education. We will continue to deepen partnerships with national builders, manufacturers, and suppliers, many of whom have stood with us since our founding, while cultivating new collaborations that share our belief that everyone deserves a place to call home.
Internally, we are investing in our affiliates through leadership development, shared technology platforms like Salesforce, and our national Standards of Excellence program to ensure consistent, measurable outcomes. And as always, we’ll keep storytelling at the heart of our mission, through podcasts, awareness campaigns, and on-the-ground success stories that remind us all why this work matters.
A Call to Lead Together
As we prepare for HomeAid’s 2026 National Planning Session on January 15, I invite our partners, builders, and supporters to continue walking with us. Together, we are not just building housing, we are building hope, community, and opportunity.
To all who have shared their time, talent, and resources this past year, thank you. The work ahead is great, but so is our belief that through collaboration, compassion, and commitment, we can build a future where everyone has a place to call home.
With Gratitude,
Scott Larson, HomeAid America CEO
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HomeAid Celebrates the Launch of its 20th Affiliate in the Delaware Valley Area
HomeAid is proud to announce the launch of its 20th affiliate in the Delaware Valley area. This affiliate will serve individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness in southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, northern Delaware, and a small part of Maryland. This expansion is a significant milestone for HomeAid, reflecting its deep commitment to the communities it serves and its mission to provide dignified housing and support to those in need.
The new affiliate will focus on collaborative efforts with local and national homebuilders, service providers, businesses, and volunteers to build or renovate housing solutions for vulnerable individuals and families in the region. HomeAid has already made a considerable impact in the areas it serves, and this new affiliate will further enhance its capacity to effect positive change in the lives of those facing housing instability.
“The opening of our Delaware Valley affiliate reflects the very best of what HomeAid does, bringing people together to build hope, stability, and opportunity. Every community deserves a coordinated, compassionate response to homelessness, and this affiliate will help deliver that by uniting builders, service providers, and local leaders around meaningful, lasting solutions. We are honored to expand HomeAid’s mission into the Delaware Valley and look forward to the impact this partnership will create for years to come,” said Scott Larson, CEO at HomeAid America.
With the establishment of the Delaware Valley affiliate, HomeAid is now impacting individuals experiencing homelessness in 17 states nationwide. This expansion underscores HomeAid's commitment to addressing homelessness through innovative, collaborative solutions tailored to each community's unique needs.
"HomeAid America has a proven track record of successfully partnering with builders, skilled tradespeople, and community organizations to construct and renovate facilities that serve families and individuals experiencing or at risk of homelessness," said HomeAid Delaware Valley's Board President, John Dean, of Toll Brothers." We are very excited to begin impacting this community's most vulnerable through HomeAid Delaware Valley and its building partners."
To get involved with HomeAid Delaware Valley or another HomeAid Affiliate, please visit www.homeaid.org/affiliates and learn how you can help HomeAid build a future without homelessness.
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This season, we invite you to partner with HomeAid and give the gift of hope and stability.
The holidays are a time for warmth, comfort, and gathering—Yet, for thousands in our community, this season brings heightened challenges and uncertainty. At HomeAid, we believe everyone deserves the dignity and stability of a safe place to sleep. As the year draws to a close, we are actively working to complete crucial housing projects and ensure that families and individuals move to supported environments before the coldest months arrive. Your year-end support is vital to making this vision a reality.
Your donation before December 31st acts as an immediate force for change, leveraging the power of the homebuilding industry to construct and renovate essential structures. Every dollar you contribute not only builds a physical structure but also lays the foundation for safety and a new beginning.
As you reflect on your giving this season, we invite you to partner with HomeAid and give the gift of hope and stability. Your year-end donation is a powerful investment in building new lives and stronger communities. Please consider making a secure online contribution today to help us finish the year strong and ensure that the warmth of a safe home reaches more neighbors in need in 2026. Thank you for making a lasting difference this holiday season.
For more information, please get in touch with Marisol Parand, HomeAid’s Chief Development Officer, at mparand@homeaid.org.
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Term of the Month:
Essentials Kit ![]() ![]()
A small bag filled with basic needs items (water, hygiene items, food bar, etc.) for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. These bags are typically kept in vehicles for immediate distribution to people seen living on the streets or panhandling. It may include a resource card as well.
This holiday season, if you plan to give things to our unhoused neighbors, many of whom you see on the streets, consider giving them an essentials kit.
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Recommended Reading: Design with Love: At Home in America by Katie Swenson
In Design with Love: At Home in America, Katie Swenson brings together two decades of community-centered design work with vivid photography and narrative to show how homes built thoughtfully and in partnership can become powerful instruments of justice, dignity, and belonging.
Swenson, a former vice president of design & sustainability at Enterprise Community Partners and longtime leader of the Rose Fellowship program, presents a selection of ten projects across the U.S. that illustrate how designers, community organizations, and residents can work in concert to build affordable, beautiful, and resilient housing. From the streets of Skid Row, Los Angeles, to rural communities in South Dakota and the Mississippi Delta, the stories span a diverse geography of need and innovation.
What sets Design with Love apart is its intention: the book doesn’t treat design as mere aesthetics or detached architecture, but as an act of care, a way to listen, respond, and heal. Swenson’s framework acknowledges that design must be deeply rooted in the priorities, identity, and agency of the people who live in these communities. Through photographs and firsthand accounts, the book shows how design has the power to welcome, empower, and transform.
Why This Book Resonates with HomeAid’s Mission
HomeAid’s mission is to “build new lives” for families and individuals experiencing homelessness, not just through shelter, but through dignity, community, and long-term stability. Design with Love echoes that mission in several profound ways:
- Design as Partnership, Not Imposition. Just as HomeAid brings together affiliates, building partners, local agencies, and future residents in our projects, Swenson’s case studies emphasize co-creation, honoring the voice and vision of the community rather than enforcing top-down solutions.
- Beauty + Function + Justice. The book’s projects show that affordable housing need not accept compromise on quality, sustainability, or aesthetic value. HomeAid’s work similarly strives for homes that lift people up, rather than simply house them.
- Demonstration of Scalable Models. The Rose Fellowship network has produced replicable design strategies across varied contexts. HomeAid can draw inspiration from these models as we expand housing solutions in multiple cities and contexts.
- Embedding Love & Care into Spaces. The idea that every building can reflect compassion and human dignity aligns with HomeAid’s values. Our housing is not just functional, but meant to carry hope, community, and respect.
Ideas for Volunteers & Educators
While Design with Love is a bit more technical than a typical book, it offers excellent opportunities for deeper engagement:
- For Educators: Use the images and stories to spark discussion about what “home” means. Ask: What are the spaces you most cherish in your home? How could a home reflect who you are? Compare with the homes in the book and imagine what you would design.
- For Volunteers & Supporters: Reflect on ways to bring design sensitivity to volunteer work, whether in painting, landscaping, furniture selection, or renovation. Even small decisions can embody care, not just cost.
- For Local Affiliates: Use Design with Love as a study piece in your local design reviews or planning sessions. Share excerpts with architects, planners, or municipal partners to elevate conversations about equitable design in your communities.
In Closing
Design with Love is a rich, inspiring collection of stories showing how design and architecture, when rooted in care, equity, and community voice, can help build not just houses, but homes full of possibility and dignity. It resonates deeply with HomeAid’s mission to serve people with respect, creativity, and long-term impact.
We encourage all HomeAid staff, partners, volunteers, and supporters to explore this book, reflect on its lessons, and carry them into your work and
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