York’s biggest Habitat for Humanity underway

June 10, 2019

It still needs volunteers and about $1.5 million in donations, but Habitat for Humanity is forging ahead with its biggest build in the York Region of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)—six, two-storey townhouses for lower-income families.
According to the 2016 York Region Census, 52 per cent of renter households in York Region are spending at least 30 per cent of household income on housing costs—the highest in the GTA, according to Ene Underwood, Habitat for Humanity GTA’s CEO.
Since 2011, the organization has built 19 homes for families in need of affordable housing in York Region, he added.
The land on which the organization is building was previously purchased by Habitat for Humanity GTA. It needs donations of cash, building materials and building services to complete these six homes. Construction will begin this summer and Habitat for Humanity GTA will actively recruit volunteers to help build. Habitat homeowners are required to put in 500 hours of volunteer work and take on a Habitat for Humanity mortgage to qualify for a home.
Any contractors or builders who want to get involved in the project are asked to visit habitatgta.ca/dalton.