This past November, a London family received the keys to their new Burselm Street home at an event to mark the completion of the city’s second Home at Last project.
“The success of the Home at Last initiative can be attributed to the perseverance of the community partners,” said the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). “We are proud to contribute to this partnership with funding through CMHC’s Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP).”
Home at Last is a partnership made up of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), Habitat for Humanity and CMHC. The goal of this partnership is to help families currently residing in rental housing achieve their dream of home ownership and to improve the existing housing stock in the City of London.
“This is a perfect match for London’s affordable homeownership down payment assistance program,” said Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best. “Providing families with an incentive and an opportunity to become home owners is an important part of London’s new Community Housing Strategy”.
Planning for this latest Home at Last project began earlier this year. “On January 13, 2010, the Home at Last partners came to the table and cobbled together a plan to proceed with a second homeownership project, with the newest partner, Habitat for Humanity London, agreeing to guide and oversee the renovation piece,” said Mike Carson, Chair of the Home at Last Committee. “LSTAR, like its fellow Ontario real estate associations, subscribes to a Quality of Life philosophy, one of the principles of which is providing affordable housing opportunities. Home at Last is one way REALTORS® improve life in our community.”
The project is also supported by the Canadian REALTORS Care® Foundation, established to showcase the volunteer work and community involvement of REALTORS® from coast-to-coast, as well as the Ontario Real Estate Association REALTORS Care® Foundation, which supports shelter-related charities across the province. “Ontario REALTORS® raise money for our provincial Foundation, which then reinvests it back into those communities,” explained Betty Doré, Chairman of the REALTORS Care® Foundation and Executive Vice-President of London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®. “As for Home at Last, our members have been involved in every aspect of this initiative, from fundraising to working with the family. We couldn’t be prouder of them or of the great job they’ve done.”
The home and property were donated by Kay Wilkinson in honour of her son and have been extensively renovated to suit the Moss family’s needs. It included lifting and moving the house temporarily to rebuild the foundation and reinforce the structure. The mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems have been replaced and the energy efficiency of the home has been improved dramatically. The goal is to reduce maintenance and energy consumption to ensure that operating costs remain affordable for the family.
In addition to the contributions from the Home at Last partners, the City of London contributed funding through its Housing Partnership Policy and London businesses have donated goods and services.
Pictured: Representatives from Habitat for Humanity, CMHC, the City of London, Ontario, and the London-St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR Executive Vice President Betty Doré on the far right and Mike Carson third from right) participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
