Following a comprehensive search, Habitat for Humanity Sunshine Coast (HFHSC) has chosen its four newest Habitat families.
Led by family selection committee chair Ken Croizier, members of the committee met with more than 31 families over the past several months to determine their eligibility for the Habitat program.
Croizier describes the prospective Habitat family as “a working family who, no matter how hard they work, can never make a down payment because rents are so high. These are exactly the young families we need to stay on the Coast to ensure that our communities continue to thrive.”
On Nov. 20, the board of directors approved the following families: Evie Inman and her two children; Jeff Moody and Airen Muir and their two children; Tyler Nooski and his four children; and Lisa Marie Twigg and her three children.
The families will now get started on putting in their 500 volunteers hours, called sweat equity, which is a requirement before moving into their new homes.
After putting in their sweat equity hours, Habitat families assume mortgage payments that are capped at 30 per cent of gross household income.
“For a family of three, our income guidelines say they should be making a minimum of $38,000 per year,” Croizier says. “If they are paying 30 per cent of this on housing (which includes taxes and insurance), they would be paying $950 per month.
“You would be lucky to find a nice, small three-bedroom home for $2,000 a month on the rental market,” Croizier says.
Besides Croizier, the HFHSC selection committee consists of Janet Flagel, Mary-Anne Thiessen, Gwen Hawkins, and Cori Lynn Germiquet.
The non-profit organization said the committee “faced the most difficult task of selecting only four families out of the many who need a home to safely raise their children.”
All applicant families to the program must meet the core criteria of living in need, having the ability to pay their mortgage and being willing to partner with HFHSC.
– Submitted
