Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity celebrates groundbreaking step toward affordable housing solutions

BROWN COUNTY – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed Assembly Bill 454 last week, advancing housing access across the state.

This bill, authored by Sen. Jesse James, Rep. Jessie Rodriguez and co-authored by Rep. Amaad Rivera-Wagner, establishes a workforce home loan program administered through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA), designed to help working families achieve homeownership near their places of employment.

By providing supplemental, zero-interest financing, AB454 makes housing more accessible and affordable for Wisconsin’s workforce.

“I am proud to celebrate the signing of AB454, which shows what is possible when leaders come together to put community first,” said Greater Green Bay Habitat CEO Jessica Diederich.

“In Brown County, too many hardworking families are constrained by rising housing costs, putting stability, homeownership, and generational wealth out of reach. This bipartisan legislation marks a bold step forward and echoes Habitat for Humanity’s mission to embrace sweat equity and partnership, offering a hand-up, not a handout. I cannot think of a better way to come together because this is about more than building houses, it is about expanding access to affordable homeownership and creating lasting opportunity across our state.”

There is a significant gap between what an average family can afford to pay for a home and what homes are selling for. In many parts of Wisconsin, one in five households is cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income for housing.

“In Brown County, a household must make over $22 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rate,” Diederich said. “In reality, those households here in Brown County are making under $19 an hour, so they’re paying hundreds of dollars more in housing every month than they can afford. This is where you start to see trade-offs happening. Parents are having to work two to three jobs to keep a roof over their head. They’re not able to feed their children healthy food. They’re not going to the doctor when they need to.”

Rivera-Wagner not only has lived, first-hand experience growing up in a Habitat home, but has shared his advocacy in keeping affordable housing at the forefront of conversation.

“I was raised by a teenage single mom,” Rivera-Wagner said. “We experienced homelessness in all the ways that people don’t always see — from cars to couches to shelters to dealing with bad landlords. Until one day, my family found Habitat for Humanity. We built our home alongside perfect strangers — people we didn’t know who showed up because they believed in something bigger than themselves. My mom still lives in her Habitat home to this day. I later became the first person in my family to go to college. Going from living in a car to the halls of power has been quite an incredible journey.”

“Homeownership is not just a roof over your head, it is the stability that makes everything else possible,” Rivera-Wagner said. “This bill is about making sure more families, no matter where they start, have a real chance at a different future.”

The bill seeks to close the gap through 0% financing to give more families the chance to afford the American dream of homeownership and begin building equity and wealth.

“In greater Green Bay, home prices and limited inventory have placed home ownership far beyond the reach of many hard-working families,” Diederich said. “That’s why moments like this matter.”

This innovative approach is expected to save eligible homebuyers up to $270 per month, making homeownership a reality for more families across the state.

“Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin, together with its 29 local Habitat affiliates, continues to play a leading role in addressing the state’s housing crisis and expanding pathways to homeownership. This legislation builds upon that leadership by strengthening our commitment at the state level to support long-term economic stability and increase access to affordable housing. By establishing a workforce home loan program, we are directly addressing the barriers that too many first-time homebuyers face, from rising costs to limited access to credit,” explained Peter Lewandowski, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin. “This initiative not only empowers individuals and families to achieve the milestone of owning a home but also helps build stronger communities and a more resilient workforce across our state. It is an investment in both our people and our future.”