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Habitat cannot build homes without the support of community partners. Future homeowners across the Habitat Heartland region benefit from Financial Literacy training provided by Libro.
"Our very best wishes to those who are starting the next phase of their lives as homeowners. At Libro, we have a purpose beyond profit, and we are proud of our growing partnership with Habitat for Humanity. We share a vision of providing access to adequate, safe, and affordable housing for all and firmly believe that success in community impact comes from partnerships and collaboration." – Jordan Moat, Libro Regional Manager, London Elgin Oxford.
The County of Brant and Makers partnered with Habitat to bring their expertise and connections and helped make the dream of this project come to life.
"The Upstart Project has the potential to become a global solution to housing everywhere. Our vision is to see this model grow and scale to allow affordable, healthy and efficient homes to get built faster. The completion of this first home is just the beginning," said Sumit Ajwani, founder, Makers.
“On behalf of County Council and the community, we would like to congratulate Kayla and her family on their new home in the County of Brant. The County of Brant was pleased to partner with Habitat for Humanity Brant-Norfolk and offer a residential lot in the Oakhill community. The County is a special place to live and the community takes care of each other. I would like to thank Habitat for Humanity for choosing the County and for helping families to build a strong foundation in this community.” – Mayor David Bailey
While other Habitats in the United States have been built to Passive House design, the Upstart Project is Canada’s first Habitat single-family home built to Passive House standards. The collaboration between Habitat for Humanity, Makers and education partners and researchers at the University of Waterloo has served as a model for other builders to integrate Passive House elements, sustainability and resiliency in affordable housing. The true benefactors are future generations to come. Building materials and techniques were selected to reduce the carbon footprint of construction and pass on up to 90 percent energy savings to Kayla who bought the home through Habitat.
The location and lot dimensions on Willowdale Street allowed the team to build a comfortable and efficient single-family home. In addition, the design utilized prefabricated components for much of the construction. This approach lowered the cost of materials and simplified the building process for volunteers, as the project brought together trades and non-trades people to help build a community.
New homeowner Kayla said, “Without Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership program, I would never have the opportunity to bless my children with a safe and secure place to call home. Habitat for Humanity has provided me with the opportunity to pay into a mortgage of my own instead of paying endless rent payments to my landlord. Thank you Habitat for everything you have done for my family and I.”
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