Safe, decent, affordable housing provides families a place to build and grow. When a family is willing to work with Habitat Saskatchewan and is dedicated to the hard work of becoming a homeowner and achieving affordable homeownership, families can transform their lives.
Affordable homeownership helps create the conditions that free families from stress and fear, helping build stability and confidence. Studies show that strong and stable households are foundational to child development and growth. Owning an affordable home also allows homeowners to lift up their entire family by saving for their futures and investing in educational opportunities.
Our Impact on Homeowners
Research has shown that Habitat homeowners are happier, healthier, and more financially stable, allowing them to return to school, learn a new trade or upgrade their job skills. Meanwhile, their children are more confident and do better in school.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation conducted a Canada-wide survey of Habitat families, and the majority reported improved health, happiness, and overall well-being.
Here are the stats:
- 86% of Habitat homeowners report being happier since moving into their Habitat home. 89% said their family life improved.
- 70% of homeowners reported improved health, including reduced colds, allergies, asthma symptoms, and stress.
- 65% reported an increase in their children’s confidence. Children’s participation in extracurricular activities also increased.
- 58% reported they were better off financially.
The benefits of a Habitat home reach far beyond the four walls these families help build. Through reduced reliance on social housing and food banks, better education and employment outcomes, and improved health, every Habitat home built helps benefit the entire community.
Our Impact on Children
Growing up in a safe, decent, affordable home can powerfully affect children. Our work shows that housing quality, location and affordability affect a child’s ability to thrive.
Low-quality housing accompanied by pests, poor ventilation, lack of heat and other detrimental factors has been strongly linked to physical health problems for children.
The stress that parents experience due to living in poor conditions can translate into emotional and behavioural problems in their children. Children whose families are forced to move frequently in search of better, more affordable living situations often struggle. Parents paying too much for a place to live too often must deplete financial resources that otherwise could be invested in their children’s health, education, and futures.
By building safe, clean, and healthy housing for low-income families, we work to eliminate children’s experiences of substandard housing, thereby supporting their growth and development.
Impact Highlights
Habitat Saskatchewan has partnered with thousands of families throughout our time as an organization. We aim to ensure our families succeed through their homeownership journey by offering them support. One of the areas of support is through our education platform, which allows them to learn about budgeting, financial saving, home maintenance, home insurance, etc.
Here is our impact brought to light:
Highlights from Latoya –
“The consistency that comes from homeownership will allow me to plan and save for my children’s futures. My children can have opportunities I never had, and maybe I can explore other opportunities for myself, like going back to school.
A Habitat home is a strong foundation for a family, an opportunity on which we can build a better life. Stability for my family is fundamental, and Habitat has made it possible by providing us with a basic tool in achieving this, a home. So, thank you so much to everyone that has made this dream possible for me and my children.” – Latoya, Habitat Saskatchewan homeowner.
Highlights from Ramona –
“Being able to say that this is our home brings joy to our life. We are very happy we have a beautifully built home that suits our family’s needs. We live in an accessible unit, and it has provided me with the accessibility to care for my son with more ease. Our everyday routines are manageable without limitations.
The accessibility and modifications that have been done to our home has had a huge impact on our quality of life. Our lives have become more stress-free, and at the end of each day we enjoy reminiscing and looking forward to what our future holds.” – Ramona, Habitat Saskatchewan homeowner.
You can look at Habitat Saskatchewan’s impact by checking out the stories on our website in the news section or by visiting our social media pages @habitatsask.