The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor The dream of home ownership is about to get a whole lot more realistic for low-income residents. Habitat for Humanity expects to formally establish a Flin Flon chapter within about the next month and begin home construction in little over a year. 'We're likely looking at the shovel going in the ground (for the first home) next May,' said Steve Krahn, vice-president of the non-profit's Manitoba division. Habitat is a renowned international organization that builds new homes and sells them to the working poor. Krahn, guest speaker at last week's Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce meeting, said initial activities for the local chapter will include fundraising and selecting people for homes. Fundraising methods will be determined locally. And while the chapter will decide which individuals can buy homes, all applicants must meet criteria set out by the provincial office. Volunteers Habitat has about 16 volunteers in the Flin Flon area. Many have been meeting regularly since February, but it will take until about mid-May before the chapter is formally constituted. Given the number of older and vacant buildings in Flin Flon, Krahn was asked whether Habitat would ever refurbish an existing structure rather than build new. 'For the most part in Manitoba we focus on new-building construction,' he said. 'In the past we were getting involved with some renovations. We found those to be more complicated and it was more difficult to peg down their costs. So for the most part in Manitoba we have stuck with just new home construction. See 'Habi...' on pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 'Would we rule it out 100 per cent? No. If that was the best way that a chapter could address the needs in the community, the chapter would have the ability to move in that direction.' The Flin Flon chapter will enjoy plenty of support from the provincial office, which Krahn said provides almost half of the cash needed to build homes. 'So what's remaining for the chapter is about $70,000 to raise for one house,' he said. Homes are built by a combination of hired tradespeople and volunteer workers. And while tradespeople often donate labour or materials, Habitat never assumes it will receive such aide. Krahn noted that each home is paid for before it is completed, so all mortgage payments go toward building more homes. He stressed that Habitat is not a giveaway program, as homes are sold to low-income earners at full market value. However, homebuyers require no down payment and pay no interest on their mortgages. Mortgages can stretch into the decades and are based on 25 per cent of a household's gross income. Habitat has been in Winnipeg since 1987 and is now looking to expand into smaller communities throughout the province. Branches already exist in Dauphin, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, Steinbach and Lundar, among other locations. Krahn sees Habitat's success in tiny Lundar, _ with a population under 1,400 _ as a positive sign for other communities wanting to launch their own chapters. Government data shows that in 2006, the Manitoba portion of Flin Flon _ which is almost the entire community _ had 11.1 per cent of its families fall into the low-income bracket. That was only slightly lower than the Manitoba-wide figure for the same year, 12.3 per cent. Welfare rates Welfare rates in Flin Flon have also increased in recent years, but those individuals do not qualify for Habitat because they cannot own a home while on assistance. During a community presentation in February, Krahn said Habitat builds entry-level homes but is willing to stack the quality of its houses against any others in the province. And since Habitat does not need to make a profit on homes, he said 'extras' can be added that might otherwise be foregone.
