Second Habitat for Humanity Home Underway in Fort Qu’Appelle

Released on September 3, 2014

Construction of a second Habitat for Humanity home in Fort Qu’Appelle was officially launched at a groundbreaking ceremony today.  The single family, bungalow style home received $65,000 in funding from the province through the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC).  The home is also supported in part by Mosaic Potash Corporation and the Town of Fort Qu’Appelle.

Habitat for Humanity Regina, Regina Trades and Skills, and Prairie Valley School Division are working in partnership to involve the Trades and Skills Construction Apprenticeship Program (TASCAP) in Fort Qu’Appelle.  TASCAP engages and trains high school students in a variety of construction trade areas.  The home, located at 288 Craigleith Avenue, will be built by TASCAP students who will be on site daily to learn from qualified instructors how to build a home from the ground up.  It is anticipated that the home will be completed in June 2015.

“This is another wonderful opportunity to support Habitat for Humanity’s efforts to help stabilize housing for families and achieve their goals of homeownership,” Last Mountain – Touchwood MLA Glen Hart said on behalf of Social Services Minister and Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation Donna Harpauer.  “Our government is also proud of the students for showing their tremendous community spirit by taking on this task to support a local family in need of a safe, stable and affordable home.  This is a part of the overall vision of the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth, which is to make Saskatchewan the best place in Canada to live, work and raise a family.”

“Building on the success of TASCAP in Fort Qu’Appelle last year, we are excited to bring the partnership with Prairie Valley School Division and Regina Trades and Skills back for a second home in the community,” Habitat for Humanity Regina CEO Kelly Holmes-Binns said.  “More than 50 students will build this home from the ground up.  Nine months from now, we will welcome a local family into homeownership and we couldn’t do it without funding from the provincial government, through Saskatchewan Housing Corporation and Mosaic.  These partnerships continue to provide hard-working, low-income families with opportunities to break the cycle of poverty through homeownership.”

In the 2014-15 Budget, the province committed an additional $750,000 through the SHC to help build an additional 12 new Habitat for Humanity homes throughout Saskatchewan.  This brings the government’s commitment to Habitat for Humanity to a total of $7.85 million since March 2009.  This total includes $600,000 from the province’s Summit Action Fund.

This funding supports builds in 12 communities across the province including Duck Lake, Fort Qu’Appelle, Humboldt, Lloydminster, Melfort, Moose Jaw, Nipawin, Prince Albert, Regina, Saskatoon, Weyburn and Yorkton.

SHC now provides $65,000 per home in funding for homes starting construction.  This is up from the $50,000 per home which was provided up to March 2014. 

Habitat is one of the few organizations whose distinct delivery model continues to provide viable homeownership opportunities for low- to moderate-income families.  Each selected Habitat partner family contributes 500 partnering hours to build their home and other Habitat for Humanity homes, and participates in valuable training and preparation sessions.

To learn more about Habitat for Humanity and their work across Saskatchewan, visit www.habitat.ca.

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For more information, contact:

Linda Saliken
Social Services
Regina
Phone: 306-787-0246