This proposal outlines a longitudinal study to assess the generational impacts of affordable housing provided by HabiJax, a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Jacksonville, FL, over the past 30 years. Researchers will conduct interviews every 5 years with a sample of 100 former HabiJax homeowners and their families to understand changes in areas like education, employment, wealth, health, and civic engagement. An initial pilot study involved interviews with 8 subjects but had challenges with outdated contact information. The proposal seeks feedback on increasing participation, such as offering a higher incentive or interviewing adult children.

1. Authored by:
Longitudinal
Study on the
Generational
Impacts of
Habitat for
Humanity
A Research Proposal to Study the Impacts of
the HabiJax Affordable Housing Program
Tes Tuason
Professor,
Department of Public Health
University of North Florida
Athlene Jones
Master of Science student
School of Computing
University of North Florida
Dan Richard
Co-Director of Florida Data Science
for Social Good
Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
University of North Florida
Karthikeyan Umapathy
Co-Director of Florida Data Science
for Social Good
Associate Professor
School of Computing
University of North Florida

2. HabiJax is one of the most successful
Habitat for Humanity affiliates
in the United States.
Providing
Homeownership
Opportunities
and
Other Housing Services
to over
2300+
Families
Overview
HabiJax is one of the largest nonprofit
affordable housing builders in Duval County,
Florida and advocates for affordable housing
and fair housing policies.
Apart from building homes, HabiJax provides
mortgage lending services as well as
organizes workshops and other training to
help families improve their housing
conditions.

3. Data 4 Good
Project
HabiJax reached out to Florida Data Science
for Social Good (FL-DSSG) for assistance
with assessing the long-term impact of the
services provided.
The HabiJax executive team is tasking FL-
DSSG to conduct a retrospective impact
evaluation of affordable housing provided
to income-constrained families over the
past 30 years.
Identify a Nonprofit or
Public sector organization
with a “Wicked Problem”
Gather Data and
Formulate a Plan
Analyze the Data
Improve Decision Making
Process for the
Community Partner
Data Science for Social
Good (DSSG) Process

4. Research Objectives
Research Questions
Overview
• What are the generational impacts
HabiJax has on low-income partner
families?
• Do the future generations of the
HabiJax partner families benefit from
their program?
• Are they better or worse off, and in
what areas?
1. Select a sample of HabiJax homeowners
who live in the Jacksonville, FL area
willing to participate in our study.
2. Collect qualitative open-ended interview
responses from them regarding their
experiences with the program; as well as
to collect quantitative data from them in
the form demographic information.
3. Synthesize and analyze the data.
4. Repeat objectives 1-3 in 5-year intervals
of the next 30 years.

5. Literature Review
Timeframes of Retrospective Studies found
(Herguth, M., Kenny, J., & Bonds, A., 2013)
(Brown, J.M., 2017)
(Hoffman, L. & Carbajo, D.M., 2015)
(Lattimore, J., & Lauria, M., 2018)
(George, G., 2017)
Neighborhood impact
Economic impact
Homeowner activities
Economic and employment impact
Mobility, social capital, economic hardship, and resident perceptions

6.  Surveys - Mail-in, phone, and web survey types were common. Contact information was typically supplied by local HFH affiliate
offices, but often contained outdated contact information. It was also commonplace to give $10-$50 gift cards to respondents
for participating.
 Focus Groups – Focus groups were commonly used before the delivery of survey or interviews to gather upfront information
and feedback from community leaders, stakeholders, affiliates, and staff.
 Interviews - Phone and in-person interviews were useful in collecting data from partner families, affiliates and/or staff. It was
also commonplace to give $10 - $50 gift cards to homeowners for participating.
 Datasets – The combination of pre-existing datasets such as in-house data provided by HFH affiliate offices, census data, third-
party datasets, property assessment data from local appraiser or tax collector offices were frequently used.
 Physical Observations – These included home inspections and visits to the neighborhoods of Habitat homes for in-person
observation.
 Estimation Tools - Typically used for Economic Impact Analysis. Commonly mentioned tools included IMPLAN, and RIMS II.
 Social Media Groups (Facebook) – Used to observe social behavior and conduct interviews online.
Literature Review
Common Methodologies Used

7. Literature Review
Tools by Type and Purpose

8. • Economic Impact
• Quality of Life
• Wealth and Stability
• Construction
• Property Valuation
• Mental Health
• Reliance on Social Services
• Civic Engagement
Literature Review
Measures Most Commonly Studied
• Neighborhood Impact
• Impact on Children
• Educational Outcomes/Academic
Achievement
• Financial Impacts
• Health Outcomes
• Risky Teen Behavior
• Environmental Health

9. Research Methodology
Mixed Method
• The timeframe for this research study is approximately 30 years.
• A series of subsequent interviews every 5 years to collect data, monitor progress and analyze results
will be conducted.
Longitudinal Study
It should be noted that we will not necessarily study the same partner families every 5 years. There may be cases where
a particular family exit the program before the end of our study or enter the program well after the study begins.
Population and Sample
• HabiJax has built over 1000 affordable homes in Duval County over the past 30 years. From the listing
of affordable homes, we will select a sample of 100 homes. The selected sample will be heterogenous
across residential development areas and family’s status.
• The sample of 100 homes selected to participate in the study will be invited via email [and postal mail].
• Maximum target: 30
• Minimum target: 10

10. Research Methodology
Recruitment Process
• Participants would be asked to schedule the interview using Calendly link.
• The Calendly system will provide participants provisions to select a date and time.
• The Calendly system will automatically create a Zoom meeting link for the selected date and time and
sends the invite to researchers and participant.
• The Calendly system also provide options for participants to cancel the scheduled interviews.
Interview Scheduling
Incentive
• HabiJax will provide $50 gift card to participants

11. Data Collection
Interviews via Zoom
• 60 minutes interview with Zoom audio recording
• 8 open-ended questions (qualitative)
• 11 demographic questions (quantitative)
• Both qualitative and quantitative data are gathered in one
seating. First qualitative data is gathered.

12. Open-ended Interview
Questions
1. How was your life then when you purchased a house with HabiJax, and how is it now?
2. Education - Past and present
• What was your education post-closing? Did you pursue a higher degree or certifications or skills
after purchasing a home?
• If you have children or grandchildren in the house (or were in the house), what school do they
(did) attend?
3. Employment
• What was your job when you purchased a home? What is your current job?
• Compared to when you just purchased a home, how has your income changed? Level of
disposable income?
4. Wealth Building - Compared to when you just purchased a home, how has your financial situation
changed?
5. Safety/Neighborhoods - Have feelings of neighborhood safety changed since you purchased a
home?
6. Health - What are the changes in your health/mental health since having a home?
7. What are the significant challenges in your life since having a home? What are benefits of
homeownership?
8. Is there anything else you would like to share to us?

13. Demographic Questions
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Sexual orientation
4. Ethnicity
5. Immigrant status
6. Disability
7. Living situation when you purchased a home
8. Living situation now
9. What is your household size when you purchased a home?
10. What is your household size now?
11. Current highest educational attainment • Live alone in my home
• Live alone in my home with a pet
• Live in a household with family – both parents and kid(s)
• Live in a household with family - single-parent with kid(s)
• Live with extended family
• Temporarily staying with a relative or friend
• Live in a boarding house or shared space
• Live with partner or roommate
• Other
Living situation options

14. Pilot Data Collection
• Recruitment emails were sent to 100 residences
• 8 subjects were interviewed during December 2021 and January 2022
• $50 gift cards were provided to those completed the interview
Challenges
• Many outdated contact information
• None signed up after January 2022
• Postal mails were sent, but no luck
Feedback?
• $50 incentive seem to be not sufficient, any thoughts on how to get more residents participate?
• We are considering interviewing adult children of the residences took part in the study. Your
thoughts?

15. Longitudinal
Study on the
Generational
Impacts of
Habitat for
Humanity
Thank you.