Habitat for Humanity (HFH) NWT has been selected as the April winner of 100.1 True North FM’s Community Voice Fund.
HFH NWT is one of 72 affiliates in Canada and the charity focuses on investing in homeownership for NWT families.
“We’re a small registered charity who builds strength, stability, and self-reliance for families by building affordable housing for families who may not otherwise have the opportunity to become homeowners so we give them a chance to become a homeowner and build equity for them and their family’s future.” HFH NWT Executive Director Alayna Ward told True North FM.
“Right now we are primarily building modular houses we have three to four-bedroom homes but we can modify the home based on what a family needs,” she added.
Ward also discussed the three main criteria that qualify a household to apply for Habitat for Humanity.
“There are three major criteria to qualify, it’s not a free home, the habitat model is focused on giving families a ‘hand-up’ not a ‘hand-out,'” She said.
“The main eligibility criteria is obviously if you are in housing need, your housing may be too small, it may be unsafe, or it might just not be suitable.”
“The second major criteria is the ability to pay, so someone in your home has a stable income with a year-round job and you have to have a good credit rating as well.”
“The third is you must be willing to partner with Habitat, the Habitat model doesn’t charge a down payment so when you become a Habitat homeowner, you don’t have to make a down payment which is a stumbling block for a lot of the homeowners we talk to,” Ward added.
The Community Voice Fund is an initiative at True North in partnership with Gahcho Kue Mine, De Beers Group, and Mountain Province Diamonds.
Habitat for Humanity NWT is accepting donations for the cause and anyone willing to donate is invited to visit www.canadahelps.org where donors can choose to give once or monthly, minimum donations are $3.
