Affordable housing projects get $3.6 million

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This article was published 13/08/2020 (1915 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A $3.6-million investment from the federal and provincial governments is aimed at helping build affordable housing in Manitoba.

“Home ownership is the foundation to financial security for most families in society. To be able to extend this opportunity to low-income working families is a measure of the depth of understanding our political leadership has,” Habitat for Humanity Manitoba chief executive officer Sandy Hopkins said Thursday during the announcement.

Habitat’s homebuilding program is receiving the bulk of the funding — $3 million over three years — which will go toward the construction of 60 housing units.

“While we enjoy tremendous community support in the form of donations and volunteer time, we couldn’t possibly do what we do and build what we build if we didn’t have the support of the provincial and federal governments,” Hopkins said.

Habitat for Humanity has built 420 homes in Manitoba since the charity began breaking ground in the province in 1988; 19 homes are currently underway.

Owner families are required to take on 500 volunteer hours, including 100 hours helping with home construction, after which the charity will sell the homes at market value, without a down payment, and a no-interest mortgage based on the family’s gross income.

Local non-profit Wahbung Abinoonjiiag Inc., which currently provides programs and services out of its Dufferin Avenue location for youth and women dealing with family violence, will receive $635,000 to demolish a vacant housing unit on Watt Street and redevelop the land into affordable housing for families facing violence or at risk of homelessness.

“With this funding from the province of Manitoba and the National Housing Strategy, Wahbung Abinoonjiiag, along with the guidance and expertise of community partners and the wisdom of our elders and families with lived experience, we’ll begin on a journey of a new transitional housing project,” executive director Dana Riccio-Arabe said.

The funding comes from Canada’s National Housing Strategy, a 10-year plan to build 125,000 housing units, with the goal of reducing chronic homelessness by 50 per cent.

Manitoba Housing has created 631 social and affordable housing units since 2017, and manages nearly 13,000 units throughout the province.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

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