During World War II, one side of Jason Lam’s family was in Hong Kong, crammed into a tiny apartment, fighting to keep what little they had. The other side struggled to set down roots in a foreign land after fleeing Germany to escape the Holocaust.
Growing up with these stories instilled in Lam a belief in the fundamental importance of home — and that having a happy, productive life is nearly impossible without one. So when he picked a service project to take on before starting at Harvard — as part of the new Service Starts with Summer program — he gravitated toward the Habitat for Humanity nonprofit.
Like most people, Lam mostly knew Habitat as the organization that builds houses for lower-income individuals and families. His local Raritan Valley, N.J., group was looking to expand its scope beyond home construction and start a campaign to educate residents and politicians about the shortage of affordable housing in the area. What they most needed was someone who could focus on research. Lam jumped at the opportunity.
“In New Jersey, one in six people are rent burdened. That means they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs,” Lam said, quoting research from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “To give an example, to rent a modest one-bedroom housing unit in Somerset County, a minimum-wage worker would have to work 118 hours a week.”
Lam used the statistical data for posters and fliers that Habitat for Humanity could display in its ReStores, retail spaces that sell donated appliances and furniture.
He also used the information for op-ed pieces for local papers. When doing research for those, he interviewed former Habitat clients. One in particular stuck in his mind — a family with four children living in a small two-bedroom apartment in a tough part of town.
