Members of the Silver Springs Community Association (SSCA) welcomed five families to their new homes in the Silver Creek area of the community on Feb. 16.
The families achieved homeownership through the Habitat for Humanities Southern Alberta homeownership program.
Through the program, new homeowners are not required to pay a downpayment and receive an interest-free mortgage with payments capped at 25 percent of their income.
They are a welcome addition to the community, says Cydney Elofson, president of the SSCA, which distributed baskets of treats from local businesses to the families.
“We are a close community of passionate citizens,” says Elofson. “Everyone is committed to making life better for our members and residents. We can’t wait to share all that Silver Springs has to offer with our newest families.”
One in five Canadians spends more than half their income on housing costs alone, meaning they don’t have enough money left over to buy healthy meals for their children or save for their children’s education. And at times, they’re forced to make the unthinkable choice between paying rent and buying food. Saving for a downpayment is simply out of the question.
Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta is a leader in assisting low-income families and bringing communities together to build homes that working families throughout southern Alberta can afford, says Gerrad Oishi, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta.
“The support we’ve received from the Silver Springs Community Association demonstrates the positive impacts affordable homeownership can bring to our city,” says Oishi. “Calgarians recently listed the lack of affordable housing as one of their top three concerns about our city. Hardworking families throughout Alberta are facing an escalating crisis with the lack of affordable housing.
“We encourage anyone interested in helping Habitat to build affordable homes and families wanting to buy affordable homes to contact us.”
The SSCA has been involved with strengthening its community by being involved with Habitat for Humanity before the first shovel went into the ground. Three additional buildings of eight homes each are in the process of being built over the next two years.
These affordable homes are now for sale — interested families can see the homes and qualifications on www.habitatsouthernab.ca
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