As a housing crisis continues to impact the province, the province looks to be a partner for more non-profit projects like this.
Stephanie Scott and her daughter Brooklyn were welcomed into their new home in St. George – a home made possible by Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick.
Scott, who works at the high school and health centre in St. George was sent the application by her sister at the end of January. After three months of waiting, on May 1 she was notified her family was the chosen candidate.
“Now I have the stability to have a home that I don’t have to worry about leaving,” said Scott.
She was previously renting about 20 minutes away from where she is now, which was a precarious situation. Like many, it was difficult for her to find a secure home for her family, one that wouldn’t be put up for sale by the owner, or with a looming rent increase.
“A lot of families could really use this,” said Scott. “Some are living in mold, some are living on the streets and this might be the opportunity that they need.”
In her emotional speech at the dedication, she was immensely grateful to everyone who participated in making this opportunity a reality.
Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick is a non-profit charitable organization that provides opportunities for families, like Scott’s, to have a secure home. As a part of a wider global organization, the provincial group has provided nearly 100 families with homes within New Brunswick.
“We’ve had six families move into homes so far this year and four more are scheduled to happen here in the next couple of months,” said Habitat for Humanity N.B. CEO Perry Kenndall.
As the housing crisis still grips the province, projects like these are helping families get into safe and secure homes.
The municipality, the province, and Habitat for Humanity, were all part of creating an opportunity to help another family into homeownership. All of which–along with Scott’s family–were present for the dedication.
Progressive Conservative MLA Ian Lee, Eastern Charlotte Mayor John Craig, N.B. Minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corporation David Hickey, representatives from Habitat for Humanity New Brunswick, and Executive Director of N.B. Non-Profit Housing Association Peter Corbyn was also there as part of the dedication.
The municipality provided the lot at no cost, and Habitat for Humanity built the single family home on Brunswick Street along with special mortgage terms after the home was completed. This project is an example of how many levels need to cooperate to solve the housing crisis.
“This is the day I’m immensely proud to be mayor of this great municipality,” said Eastern Charlotte Mayor John Craig.
Craig, joined by Councillor Alexa Detorakis, spoke at the dedication about how proud he was of the municipality’s ability to step up and provide the lot for no charge to Habitat for Humanity.
“I jumped at the opportunity to be here today not only because of this important news for our entire area but because it is an extraordinary day for Stephanie Scott,” said Craig. “This couldn’t have happened to a better person.”
The province also provided funding to make this project happen.
“We see a really great role that Habitat [for Humanity] plays in helping us solve the housing crisis, making sure that more folks have access to home ownership,” said Minister David Hickey.
“We’ll continue to support habitat as we have and continue to make sure that we can build more homes, more communities across the province.”
Kenndall said to help that transition be affordable there are important differences to the Habitat for Humanity mortgage model from a regular mortgage.
“It starts with that selection process and again identifying a family that’s ready to make that transition to home ownership,” said Kenndall.
There is no down payment for the mortgage, something that tends to be the biggest barrier to homeownership. There is also no interest on the Habitat portion of the mortgage.
And the factor that Kenndall believes is the most important, the payments are tailored to the income of the occupant.
“At no point will a family ever be paying more than 25 per cent of their gross earned income towards both the mortgage payment and property taxes.”
He said this kind of mortgage financing is one of the pivotal factors for homeownership because it adjusts depending on events that impact the family’s finances. If something like a layoff, or even an hour’s reduction, happens Habitat for Humanity will adjust the payment to whatever that 25 per cent comes out to.
“On the flip side, if a family income increases, then we can increase those payments and have that home paid for sooner.”
But it has become increasingly harder for Habitat for Humanity to keep up with the affordability crisis impacting the province.
“Simply put, building homes is expensive,” said Kenndall. “Construction as the cost of construction has never been higher, so the biggest factor is certainly money.”
