A family in Yorkton has officially received the keys to their new home, thanks to Habitat for Humanity and multiple levels of government.
Alexis Chartrand and her family took possession of their home Monday.
“It was a lot of hard work working full time as a single mom. A lot of my friends and family helped with the volunteer hours from work and the community cleanups, and lifting hammers at the house, and even my oldest child was there doing it,” she explained.
“It’s just it’s a humbling experience to be a part of that and I’m just thankful for everyone’s hard work.”
The four-bedroom, 1,008 square-foot bungalow was made possible with a $65,000 investment by the Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan bi-lateral agreement under the National Housing Strategy (NHS).
An additional $31,385 was provided by Lakeview Insurance — in addition to in-kind donations by RH Electric and Legacy Co-op of Yorkton.
According to Habitat for Humanity, each family selected contributes 500 partnering hours in building their home, or other habitat homes.
“A lot of the volunteer things were fun, so my kids didn’t mind either the activities at the Gallagher [Centre], the cultural days, my kids all volunteer anyways, so we’re happy that we made that connection with the Yorkton Community Kitchen to help cook for the food drop off there and the community,” Chartrand explained.
“So just our way of giving back and especially working at Bruno’s [Place] also, it wasn’t very long ago that I was in that same situation and here I am and I feel like quite successful [with the] hard work and determination and it paid off.”
The family’s efforts were commended by Kelsey Stewart, who serves as the vice president of operations at Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan.
“Our families work so hard to get to this point. There’s so much involved, 500 volunteer hours is no small feat for them to complete and making that homeownership a possibility here and making it more accessible and more affordable for them is amazing,” she said.
The families purchase their house at fair market value, paying an interest-free, zero down-payment mortgage set at 25 per cent of their annual gross income.
“It’s not easy, they have to be a bit vulnerable, right?” Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan Co-chair Yorkton Chapter Sylvia Henheffer explained.
“Because they’re exposing a lot of stuff about themselves that people don’t know. So, when they come to us and they expose who they are, and we welcome them with open arms - yeah, it’s huge. We build that bond and that connection and it lasts forever.”
Chartrand’s home marks the Yorkton chapter’s tenth build in 14 years.
