home_url() permalink issue

When I have permalinks set up to anything other than the default “non-pretty” settings, the function “home_url()” does not generate a permalink to the homepage, but points to the current directory.

You can see the issue here: https://www.bassettprovidentia.com

I am very impressed with WordPress, but Permalinks has given me nothing but grief. Without permalinks, everything works as it should.