Habitat for Humanity’s latest build in Moose Jaw could be its last for a while because the charity continues to grapple with COVID-19, rising interest rates, higher material costs and volunteer issues.
The charity went through a big merger in 2021, with the Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina offices combining to form Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan (HHS). It also included all the other community chapters around the province, such as Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Melfort and Estevan.
One of the organization’s goals with the merger was to broaden its reach with the families it serves.
HHS completed construction of its Moose Jaw build in June and handed over the Ominica Street East duplex to two single mothers.
Normally it would have held a big ceremony to distribute the keys. However, that didn’t happen because neither the provincial nor federal governments funded this initiative, and they usually mandate a public event if they fund a project.
“… two families partnered with us and were able to obtain home ownership through us, so that was something we were very excited about,” said Denis Perrault, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan. “At present, we’re wrapping up all of our current builds here in the province … .”
While it has been difficult for the charity to navigate rising interest rates, material costs, acquiring land and the pandemic, Perrault was excited about the organization’s future in the province and thrilled with his team’s efforts to ensure it completed every project this year.
After all the builds were completed, however, HHS laid off all its construction workers across the province, including Fern Paulhus in Moose Jaw. Perrault noted that this is a common practice in the construction industry.
The Moose Jaw Express spoke to a source who suggested Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan might quit Moose Jaw completely because the local chapter had difficulty finding volunteers and people in general to join the group.
Asked if HHS would permanently pull out of Moose Jaw, Perrault said he “would not feel at all comfortable saying that. That would be a false statement.”
“What I would say is that we’re looking at all our communities across the province. And we’re going to be looking at a build plan moving forward for ’23, ’24 and ’25,” he stated.
Perrault was hopeful that interest rates would stabilize in Q2 2023 and that material costs would decline, which would hopefully bring down building prices. He pointed out that many builders are no longer constructing spec houses because “it’s a dangerous time” financially.
The HHS board plans to meet in early 2023 to develop a building plan for the communities where it has operated — including in Moose Jaw — and share it with the public in the second quarter, he said. One advantage the charity possesses is it has a strong network of volunteers and donors.
Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan is a “complicated charity” because it operates three retail shops called Re-Stores, Perrault continued. The charity acquires donated goods from contractors, businesses or residents, then sells those items and uses the money to build more houses.
A second revenue stream is the organization collects money from its 200 mortgages across the province.
“It’s a common misconception that Habitat gives houses for free. They don’t. They sell the home to partner families at 0 per cent (interest and) 0 (dollars) down and they sign a mortgage (and pay monthly) … ,” he said. “Much like many Canadians pay conventional mortgages to a bank, we operate as a bank for those families.”
A third source of income is grants from the provincial and federal housing associations, while a fourth is money from donors.
The CEO added that HHS might have some ceremony next spring in Moose Jaw after sod is installed at the duplex.
