Marjorie White later qualified for a traditional mortgage and was able to pay out her Habitat mortgage.
Marjorie White, a recently divorced mother holding down several part-time jobs, was attending university and struggling to pay the rent in a gritty Winnipeg neighbourhood when she found a note in her mailbox about Habitat for Humanity. That note changed her life and those of her three children.
When Ms. White contacted Habitat for Humanity, she found she was eligible to apply for a Habitat home and soon became a proud Habitat homeowner. As part of the homeownership program, Ms. White had to complete 500 hours of volunteering. It took a year or two before she could move into the home, and during that time she completed several courses with the non-profit organization, covering subjects like budgeting and homeownership responsibilities.
"Some people think a Habitat house is for free – that they give you a house and you walk off into the sunset. That's not true," says Ms. White.
Habitat homeowners invest 500 hours of "sweat equity" into their house and the houses of others and then pay a no interest, no down-payment mortgage, geared to income.
Affordable homeownership changed her life, says Ms. White.
"I loved paying my mortgage; it meant I was a homeowner. I had the key to the door, and it gave me a sense of self-respect and dignity," she recalls.
After completing university, she started working as a Grade 1 teacher and later qualified for a traditional mortgage and was able to pay out her Habitat mortgage. This allowed Habitat to reinvest that money into building more homes for low-income families.
Terri and George Jones often drive by the building site – they hope to move in by the end of summer. Habitat for Humanity Duram
Recently a happy coincidence brought Ms. White's story full circle. At the annual general meeting of Winnipeg's Centennial Community Improvement Association, she was elected to the board of the organization that strives to create a safe, healthy and vibrant community. This year she was the recipient of a Manitoba Education and Training Teaching Excellence Award, and together with her family won the Volunteer Family of the Year Award through Volunteer Manitoba.
Meanwhile, the Jones family in Oshawa has just begun its journey to move into a Habitat home. Terri Jones became aware of the organization when she was completing a project as part of a training course. Ms. Jones says her family of four currently lives in a rented split-level house, and her husband, George Jones, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 13 years ago, has difficulty moving around the home.
"The house is being built – we drive past it, the roof is being put on," says Ms. Jones. It is one of 24 houses that will be built on the site of a former factory. "We hope to move in by the end of summer," she says.
The house will change the lives of the Jones family too.
"George will be more independent living in a single-level home, and there will be more space for our teenage children," she says.
This content was produced by Randall Anthony Communications, in partnership with The Globe and Mail's advertising department. The Globe's editorial department was not involved in its creation.