This Habitat 4 Humanity home in south Nanaimo recently welcomed the mid Island chapter's newest family. (Habitat 4 Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island)

By Ian Holmes

Habitat house

‘We’re here to help:’ Habitat 4 Humanity welcomes newest Nanaimo family

Sep 23, 2023 | 10:01 AM

NANAIMO — A successful transition out of non-market housing to make room for another family is the kind of cycle Habitat 4 Humanity hopes to see more of.

In order for the vision to meaningfully take shape, many more homes need to be created on the mid-Island region.

On Saturday, Sept. 23 the local Habitat 4 Humanity chapter officially welcomed its newest family to a collection of half a dozen homes of the non-profit built homes on Extension Rd. A single mother and her two children recently moved into the south end home.

“The first family was a tremendous success story, they were able to get some higher education, get into new fields of employment and actually buy a market house in a different community — that’s what we’re here to do, we’re here to help families,” local Habitat 4 Humanity executive director Jeff Krafta told NanaimoNewsNOW.

A home-coming package provided by Habitat 4 Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island to an Extension Rd. family. (Habitat 4 Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island)

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He described the community as an ideal fit for their partner families, with single-family homes in a range of sizes, including an accessible home, along with a playground.

Krafta said with the ever-increasing real estate prices, their organization is looking to make more of an impact in the years ahead.

He said a lot of work has started with plans for a number of potential multi-family Habitat 4 Humanity developments, including a south Nanaimo project advancing through the city’s approval process.

With the cost of land, construction and materials escalating, Krafta said density is something their organization is laser-focused on, as are partners like the City of Nanaimo.

“Ultimately we have to play along and we want to play along because it’s very important. We only have so much land here on Vancouver Island and we have to use it wisely,” Krafta said.

Habitat 4 Humanity currently has 19 partner families with Nanaimo city limits, with Krafta stating it’s their intention to vastly surpass that number over the next five years.

“We provide housing that people are able to afford to make payments on — stable, safe housing that they’re comfortable living in and that they can flourish in and they can help their kids flourish.”

Habitat 4 Humanity offers no down payment, zero interest mortgages to allow families to obtain home ownership.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes