Volunteers on site at Habitat for Humanity Canada’s President Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Edmonton.SAM DEAN
Habitat for Humanity Canada urges a year-round welcome to people who need safe and secure housing
Habitat for Humanity Canada (Habitat) is looking to replace an age-old adage associated with resistance to neighbourhood change with a new spirit that sees Canadians welcoming the development of affordable housing in communities across the country.
“We want more Canadians to support a ‘yes, in my backyard’ attitude,” says Julia Deans, the national charity’s president and CEO.
“For the very first time, everyone understands how important it is to have safe and secure housing – COVID has made that crystal clear – and the affordability issue confronts us all,” she adds. “It’s not somebody else’s issue; it affects everyone. We all know someone who is having trouble finding housing. People are more ready now than ever before to say, ‘I want people in my community to have a place to live.’”
Ms. Deans says that awareness is enabling people to help solve the country’s housing crisis by urging local authorities and others to make affordable land available and support affordable housing being built.
As Canadians head into the winter holidays, Ms. Deans hopes the seasonal spirit of goodwill and generosity will extend to a warm year-round welcome to people in their neighbourhoods who need safe and secure housing.
Ms. Deans says there is a $200,000 gain in social benefit when Habitat builds a house in a community.
“With secure housing, people can invest in themselves – get better jobs, have better educational outcomes and be more able to give back,” she says, noting the hand up can have profound ripple effects.
“Recently, when a Habitat Québec homeowner was able to secure stable housing, she was able to get a better job at the hospital where she worked,” says Ms. Deans. “Affordable homeownership and a better job gave her the financial stability to pay off her Habitat mortgage so we could reinvest in building homes for more families in her community.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down construction and temporarily closed some ReStores, the charity’s social enterprise, Habitat still built more than 200 homes in 2021.
While best known as a single-family home builder, two significant projects completed in 2021 included a 41-unit building with Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, while Habitat for Humanity Kingston Limestone Region partnered with the Anglican Diocese of Ontario to demolish an aging church and build a Community Ministry Centre and six Habitat homes in its place.
Habitat for Humanity Canada has 49 active Habitats across this country and is part of an international network that operates in 70 countries around the world.
More information: habitat.ca
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