The Gardners cut ribbon on Habitat for Humanity home (5 photos)

When the Gardner family did an initial walkthrough of their new Habitat for Humanity home at 685 McAllen Street, Casey and Jeff’s five-year-old daughter Jett already knew what room she wanted. 

“She found the biggest room, and declared that her room,” said Casey Gardner. “She even had a special paint picked out for her room - it’s a different colour than the rest of the house, and she made sure they painted that room for her.” 

The Gardners cut the ribbon on the city’s 10th Habitat for Humanity home during a dedication ceremony Wednesday, bringing out a number of project stakeholders representing the private and public sectors of Sault Ste. Marie. 

“It’s unreal. It’s beyond anything we ever expected,” said Gardner. “I’m blown away. I don’t know what else to say.”

“Everyone deserves a safe and decent place to call home, and that’s what Habitat for Humanity does,” said Katie Blunt, executive director for Habitat for Humanity Sault Ste. Marie and Area, while addressing the family and stakeholders Wednesday. “We bring communities together to help build strength, stability and independence through affordable home ownership.” 

In order to qualify for a home, individuals and families must demonstrate a need for adequate housing, and have sufficient income in order to pay the mortgage, which is interest-free and geared to income. 

Participants must complete 500 hours of volunteer service, working at the build site, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and taking part in events. 

They’re also required to take part in first-time homeowner education sessions on home and property maintenance.  

Gardner says that she quickly took to the building of the home following a ‘women’s build’ event at her new home earlier this year. 

She’s even thinking about the next Habitat for Humanity project, located right beside the Gardner family’s new home at 687 McAllen Street. 

“I realized I actually like building the house,” said Gardner. “It was a lot of fun, I enjoyed it.”

“I want to help with the house next door while I’m living here. It was wonderful.”

During her remarks to stakeholders Wednesday, Gardner told the crowd that she had been to 13 different elementary schools growing up, and didn’t want to go through the ‘rental cycle’ with a young daughter to care for. 

Gardner says the greatest part of her family’s new home is the stability it provides. 

“Just knowing that my family will always have this house,” she told SooToday. “One of the biggest things for me growing up was not having a stable home - we moved a lot.”

“This gives us exactly what I said I always wanted, and that was a forever home for us.”