Prince Albert family celebrates opening of new home

The Habitat for Humanity model of affordable home ownership bridges a gap for people who face barriers to home ownership and would not otherwise qualify for a traditional mortgage.

Each partner family selected by Habitat contributes 500 partnering hours in building their home or other Habitat homes. The family purchases their home at fair market value, paying an interest-free, zero down-payment mortgage set at 25 per cent of their annual gross income.

“Putting in the work to help build our own house is great,” Conrad said.

Noting the family had applied three times, Jamie Henderson explained prior to moving in last year, they had lived in low income housing which included mold in the basement, and a leaky bath tub.

“It wasn’t a good place, It had five bedrooms but at that time we also had eight kids living with us, three boys sharing one room,” she said, adding their new home also offers the family the opportunity to build an extra bedroom in the basement if needed.

Conrad and Jamie Henderson were overcome with emotion while expressing their gratitude. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

The federal government committed $32.4 million over three years (2019-2021) to Habitat for Humanity Canada and its affiliate organizations including Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation then provided $65,000 in funding toward the project through the federal/provincial Investment in Affordable Housing Agreement and the Summit Action Fund.

This includes an investment of $1.35 million into Habitat projects in Prince Albert, and a total of 31 homes have now been built in the city. Local board member Fran Hargrave said Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting represents huge news.

“It’s huge for the families, you know, some of the rental properties they are living in. This is a huge step up to have a brand new home, an affordable new home,” she said.

Hargrave noted a public misconception that the homes they work on are given away,. She said what they do is not a hand out, but rather a hand up, adding the applicants still have to qualify.

“They still have to have income for affordability reasons. They still have to do their volunteer hours. They still have to have good credit,” she said.

Tammy Lutz, another Prince Albert board member, explained the waiting lists for new applicants shifts, and while it was quite long pre-COVID, it is now relatively small.

“It’s certainly something that’s very attainable for people [and] is within their reach. They just have to send us an application and we are happy to work with them,” she said.

Also in attendance for Friday’s ceremony were a number of city councillors and MLAs Joe Hargrave and Alana Ross.

“Habitat for Humanity supports Saskatchewan families by offering those in need the life-changing opportunity of homeownership,” Ross said. “These new homes will serve as the foundation for this local family to create memories, reach their goals and build an even brighter future in our community. The Government of Saskatchewan is proud to continue working alongside our partners at Habitat Saskatchewan to make affordable housing more accessible and to support families in housing need.”

—

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

Prince Albert family celebrates opening of new home

What's Trending