Habitat for Humanity Red Deer will officially begin the construction of their first homes in the Town of Blackfalds. Three—soon to be four families in need will begin assisting with the construction of four new houses.  

“This will surpass 40 homes built by Habitat Red Deer in our 25 year history. We have selected three families this far that will be partners with us in helping to build their homes,” said Karen Vavrek, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Red Deer. 

The final family will be chosen based on their accessibility needs in the coming weeks. 

“We will be selecting a fourth family in the coming weeks who have accessibility needs as we’re building our first ever accessible unit,” added Vavrek. 

All families are selected based on their need, safety, and willingness to participate with Habitat for Humanity.  

“They have to demonstrate to us that they are in core housing need which means that they are living in very unsafe, dilapidated, run-down conditions. They have to have a willingness to partner with us and that means committing to 500 volunteer hours prior to moving into the home. They have to show financial need and they have to be low income,” explained Vavrek. 

The construction for the new homes was supposed to begin in spring of 2020, but with the pandemic a few deadlines were forced to be pushed back a couple of months. 

“It did delay our plans for a few months but I think the important thing to remember is that it never derails us in our mission. We’re always here to try and help families in need and even if we get a bit of a later start in building homes,” said Vavrek. 

Habitat for Humanity looks forward to spreading their roots in a new community and have seen successful partnerships throughout Central Alberta.  

“Our Mandate is to serve all of the Central Alberta Community so we have done past builds in communities like Red Deer, Sylvan Lake, Delburn, Three Hills, Lacombe, and now here we are building here in Blackfalds. We want to serve all Central Alberta families, who are in core housing need,” said Vavrek. 

Vavrek noted that she was thankful for the many Central Albertans and Central Albertan businesses which have always been very generous with Habitat for Humanity. With this project, they are hoping to see the same support. 

“It’s easy to get involved you just need to contact our habitat Red Deer Office. You can go engage with us through social media. You can check out our website there’s links to both volunteering and donating. Coming out on the build we just require a day of volunteer commitment we provide all the safety training, the PPE, and stuff like that,” added Vavrek. 

Of course, all construction will be done safely in respect to new COVID-19 regulations. 

If you are interested in helping families in need construct their home, you can click here for more information.