Family at risk of losing Habitat home

“I ripped the letter in half and I didn’t want to say anything at first because I was really upset and I didn’t want to say anything that I would regret, so I’ve taken a couple weeks to think about it and now I would like to talk about it because I think it’s really unfair.”

The letter read:

The member of the family the letter is referencing is one of Alexson’s sons who she said is a young offender. She admits the now 16-year-old had committed theft (because he stole money from her), disturbed the peace and broke curfew. She said he’s making restitution and is on probation, which includes going to school.

In the letter, it states the agreement was terminated because of the “lack of resolution” and Alexon’s family doesn’t “meet the vision of a Habitat Partner Family.” This was something she didn’t understand.

“I was never confronted with any type of resolution. I’ve been trying to deal with my son; I’ve gone with him to court, I’ve stuck by him, I’ve taken him to his appointments. Prior to him turning 16, I was legally his guardian and I have his basic needs to meet, so I stood by him right to the end and was made aware that when he turned 16 he could on the 16/17 Program, so that was what out plans were,” she said.

She added the day she received the letter her son turned 16.

“The day I received the letter in the mail, the following Monday I had already made arrangements for when my son turned 16 that he would not be living with us here, he’s moved to Saskatoon and he’s living with his stepsister and he’s going to school there,” she said.

“I believe it was for the better because he did have some bad influence in Prince Albert and that’s where all of this began.”

Since then her son has been doing well, she said.

According to Alexson, she feels Habitat For Humanity is justifying taking a home away based on a teenager’s behaviour. For her, this action hit to the core.

She said she’s always provided for her kids, always kept a job and created a nice home environment.

“I’m blown away that they can use the behaviour of a 15-year-old to affect the future of a whole family,” she said.

According to Alexson, she had no idea there was this clause with the Habitat For Humanity Partner Family Agreement.

And according to the Prince Albert Habitat For Humanity board chair Duane Hayunga, there actually isn’t anything in the agreement itself stating a child cannot get in trouble with the law.

“In the Partnership Agreement that we have, that particular wording is not in that agreement.”

Hayunga does explain it should be something discussed at the time Alexson signed the agreement more than a year ago, to receive a home.

“I would say yes, we would express to families that when we enter an agreement we also want to enter a situation that’s both healthy for Habitat and the family,” Hayunga said.

He said it would be implied that “folks would abide by all aspects with the law” because the agreement is with the whole family, not just the parent(s).

“The board looked at this particular situation, weighed all of the options in front of us and made that decision to terminate the agreement,” he said.

No one had called Alexson about being terminated from their agreement and when she eventually called them inquiring about the number of volunteer hours, known as sweat equity, she completed, she received a call from Hayunga about the situation.

“The letter really put the ball in her court,” he said.

However, he said it’s not impossible to get her agreement back. After speaking with Alexson, he asked her to draft a letter to the board about the actions she’s taken with her son and the board would make a decision whether or not to overturn its decision based on that, sometime in October.

This is the first time that Hayunga is aware of, an agreement was terminated.

He explained during the screening process they examine families and those who are facing a lot of troubles would likely not make it to the partnership agreement, which he said may be why they haven’t encountered a situation like this before.

“I’m hoping she follows through what she’s told me she will do and then we can make our decision based on all of the facts and we’ll see where that takes us,” he said.

On Monday, Alexson told paNOW despite having a chance to get her future home back at a later date, she is still disappointed with the Prince Albert Habitat For Humanity.

“I’m not really sure what to think,” she said. “I won’t get a house this year, but he [Hayunga] said that they’re willing to take a second look at my application.”

She said she will be writing the letter.

“If I sit back and not saying anything than, you know, I’m not showing any initiative to show them the trouble that I have gone through with my son, you know, the steps that I’ve taken to try and help him,” she said.

Even though Alexson currently has a low-rental home, it’s too small and doesn’t provide the stability she is looking for, for her family.

“I have my little family here in Prince Albert and this going to affect us. You know we’ve been in low rental for how many years and I just think all these years, you know, we could be putting money into a house, you know, but now we can’t, so I’ll be living in low rental probably the rest of my life.”

-with files from Thia James

sstone@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahstone84

by Sarah Stone

Family at risk of losing Habitat home

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