Members of Habitat for Humanity Sunshine Coast (HFHSC) have recently finished filing all their paperwork and are nearly ready to start building their first home for a family in need. "We just need to find some land," said Ed Hawkins, HFHSC committee chair.
A group of about 30 volunteers has been working for over eight months to create a Habitat for Humanity program on the Coast, because they "feel there is a great need for affordable housing for low income people on the Coast," said Hawkins.
The group will match volunteers who want to build low-cost homes with families in need, who then pitch in about 500 hours of sweat equity.
The building supplies are donated or acquired at a reduced rate, and the land is often donated or sold to the charity below market value.
"We're currently looking for a piece of land to build on. We don't have any money as an organization yet so we're hoping to have the land donated. We're looking at several possibilities right now," said Hawkins.
One thing there's no shortage of on the Coast is low-income families in need of a home. Hawkins says there is a strict process applicants must go through, including a series of interviews, before being approved.
Families considered must also meet four criteria. They need to live below the poverty line, be in need of affordable housing, be willing partners with Habitat for Humanity and have some sort of steady income to be able to make mortgage payments, Hawkins said.
Applicants who are chosen not only help build their home; they are also responsible for making mortgage payments each month. Those payments are calculated at 25 per cent of their monthly wage and are locked into a long-term mortgage payment schedule at zero per cent interest.
Some of that money also goes into funding Habitat for Humanity's other building efforts.
The organization was founded in 1976 and has built more than 160,000 homes in 92 countries so far. The Sunshine Coast branch is the newest affiliate in Canada.
"We are really excited about this and aim to make it a Coast-wide effort," said Hawkins.
So far the group has built a playhouse, with help of Capilano College students, that they plan to show off in upcoming parades and later raffle off for funds to run the local chapter. "That was a great project. Three businesses, Curtis Lumber, Gibsons Building Supplies and the Home Building Centre, paid for all the materials, and the students built it for us," said Hawkins.
There are also plans to build a greenhouse in the near future that will be raffled off.
If you want more information or want to get involved, you can contact Hawkins at 604-883-2778.
