Four lucky families here in Lacombe received the keys to their new homes, thanks to Habit for Humanity Red Deer in partnership with the City of Lacombe.

This was part of the Affordable Housing Strategy laid out by the City of Lacombe in 2015, which partners with different groups like Habitat, to build affordable houses for families in need.

The City donated the land for the two new duplexes, located on Sheep Close in Shepard Heights.

Jancee Hawthorne, mother of four, was one of the lucky people getting keys for her new house, and she could hardly contain her excitement after all the hard work that went into building the duplex.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t even explain it, so exciting, dream come true, never thought it would happen. We did 500 hours of sweat equity, 250 had to be my own, and 250 had to be from family and friends. And then we stopped keeping track, because it was my house and so it was fun, so we could just come and paint it, it was fun.”

Hawthorne put in her application for the home in December of 2016, and just over 7 months later, her and her four kids are moving in.

(Jancee Harthorne along with her daughter Keely inside their new home)

 

There are a number of requirements Habitat for Humanity needs for an acceptable application, which include the minimum hours of sweat equity, being willing to relocate to where Habitat is currently building, and qualified families must be employed and be able to pay the monthly mortgage payments.

CEO for Habitat for Humanity Red Deer Karen Vavrek says moments like this are what makes all the hard work worth it.

“This has been the culmination of 11 months of work, by multiple hands and multiple partners of ours. We’ve had volunteers, we’ve had donors, commit over 2,000 hours of time and materials. This is the embodiment of our vision right now, so this is the inspiring moment for us, to be able to hand over these beautiful homes to first time home owners.”

Four other units were built last year in MacKenzie Ranch thanks to the partnership between the City and Habitat for Humanity.

Up next for the City is a 29 unit complex being built in the Henners Landing area, 14 of which are considered affordable housing. So far seven of those units have already been spoken for.

For more information on how you could qualify for a new house through Habitat for Humanity Red Deer, you can visit their website, habitatreddeer.ca.

(Jancee Hawthorne, along with the three other lucky families who received new homes today, as well as Lacombe Mayor Steve Christie, and Councillor Peter Bouwsema.  Hawthorne thanked everyone for their help and support in a tearful speech to cap off the key ceremonies this afternoon, in front of the new duplex’s)