Family approved for Habitat for Humanity home on Wellington Street West

A family has been selected to move into the remaining half of the Habitat for Humanity home on Wellington Street West.

Tanya Aikens, her son and grandson will be moving into the home in the coming months.

Habitat is accepting Expressions of Interest for their upcoming build on Blake Avenue until January 25 at 4:00 p.m.

For more information, please see the press release included below.

Habitat for Humanity Sault Ste. Marie & Area (HFHSSMA) has selected a family for the remaining half of their recently completed, semi-detached build on Wellington Street West. The non-profit organization is pleased to announce Tanya Aikens, her son Alexander, and grandson Onyx will be moving into the home as Habitat’s 14^th homeowners in the coming months.

“Habitat is so proud to continue partnering with families in our community who are facing barriers to traditional homeownership. We are thrilled to welcome Tanya and her family as our 14th Habitat Homeowners and are excited to get them started on their volunteer hours and homeowner education courses,” says Allyson Schmidt, Vice Chair of Habitat’s Board of Directors and Chair of the Family Services Committee.

The tri-generational family of three currently rents an aging townhouse in need of many repairs.

Tanya has been working hard to achieve her dream of homeownership, juggling two jobs in addition to raising her family. With high rental costs, unplanned expenses associated with raising children, and a lost rent-to-own opportunity, homeownership wasn’t in the cards – until now.

“I have spent my whole adult life struggling to secure a home for my family – constantly having it be just out of reach. This is a dream come true,” says Tanya.

Tanya says she looks forward to having a safe home to raise her son and grandson, and to finally have a place to “build roots”.

“It will reduce the stress of home security – [I can] ensure that it is properly maintained as I can make changes, repairs, and know that it is completed and safe,” states Tanya.

When asked about the first thing she’ll do upon moving into her new home, Tanya states, “Breath – deeply. I will organize and finally be able to plan ahead knowing that we are securely home and settling our roots. I want to have a big dinner to have the family together to celebrate our fresh start.”

Tanya, along with her friends and family, will complete 500 volunteer hours with Habitat for Humanity Sault Ste. Marie & Area as a condition of homeownership. They will also complete seven homeowner education modules led by Habitat’s Family Services Committee volunteers.

“I am surrounded by so many supportive people who want to help me secure a positive path forward in my life – with home security being a priority,” explains Tanya.

“We’re so pleased to give Tanya a hand up in finally buying a home for her family and securing the strength, stability, and self-reliance they’ve been searching for all this time,” says Katie Blunt, Executive Director of HFHSSMA.

Habitat is accepting Expressions of Interest for their upcoming build on Blake Avenue until January 25 at 4:00 p.m.

The house will be built using similar plans to Habitat’s 2020 build on Oakwood Drive. The three-bedroom home will be a slab on ground build featuring a spacious kitchen, wide hallways and doorways, a roll-in shower, and lower-than-average light switches and thermostat.

In partnership with SalDan Construction Group, Habitat will break ground on their Blake Avenue build this spring. The home should be complete by the end of 2022.

As a non-profit, HFHSSMA relies on the generosity of volunteers, donors, and corporate sponsors to achieve its mission. If your business is interested in donating to, or sponsoring, the Blake Avenue build, please reach out to Chelsey Foucher, Fundraising & Marketing Coordinator, at [email protected] to discuss this opportunity.