Members of City Council, the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, representatives for Habitat for Humanity, and others gather to officially display the new duplexes in Grande Prairie (photo by Liam Verster)

By Liam Verster

Habitat for Humanity

Selection process underway for Habitat for Humanity families in Grande Prairie

Aug 6, 2020 | 2:38 PM

Construction of eight Habitat for Humanity houses in the the City of Grande Prairie are nearly complete, and the selection process for the families who will live there is underway.

“There’s a volunteer that works in the community that helps work with those families,” says Interim President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity, John Caputo. “I’m not exactly 100 per cent sure how many families have applied, but I know that we’re getting towards selecting families today.”

The project, which will see eight families get into the duplexes in the Northgate neighbourhood, has come together thanks to a partnership between the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, the City, KMC Group of Companies, and the Provincial Government.

The City donated the land that’s being developed and built on by KMC, but the largest financial contributor to the project was the Rotary Club, who donated $980,000.

“That’s all thanks to everyone who supported our Dreamhome Lottery,” says Tyla Savard, the President of the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie. “We ended up having a couple years where we didn’t spend all of our funds, but of course it is gaming funds so we can only hold onto it for so long. So last year, that’s where we were able to some pretty awesome things such as this project with the $980,000.”

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Rotary’s original plan, which was announced in November, was to support the building of four homes through Habitat for Humanity. However, after Habitat matched the donation through grants, and with the support of the other partners, the project was able to double in size.

The Alberta Government, which was also a partner in this project, has also been a supporter of Habitat for Humanity for the past 15 years, and the role they play in helping people into affordable living situations.

“I think it’s [hugely important], I think it’s that hand-up rather than a hand-out, to help families establish a baseline for their future,” says MLA for Grande Prairie Tracy Allard.

“It really does change their future outcomes, and what they can do for the future generations of their family as well. So, I’m excited, I hope to see many more [projects in Grande Prairie].”

While the duplexes are nearly complete thanks to the work by the KMC Group of Companies, there have been some complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s like anything else with COVID, you just have to take a little longer and you just have to work with it,” says Caputo. “Construction is definitely a difficult thing, because we rely on volunteers a lot to build a lot of our builds. So without those volunteers, we’ve had to rely on different ways to get it done.”

The goal is to have the houses complete and the families moving in by December.

The four duplexes are nearly finished, and are expected to be ready for inhabitants by December. (photo by Liam Verster)