20 new Habitat homes for veterans, refugees and Islanders with disabilities

Habitat for Humanity P.E.I. has begun work on a new housing project focused on providing housing to veterans, refugees, and families affected by disability.

The project is called Vision 20-20 and it aims to build 20 homes across the greater Charlottetown area by 2021.

Aaron Brown, CEO of Habitat for Humanity P.E.I., said the project will include the construction of four single family homes and 16 townhouse units, all of which will be designed with accessibility in mind, so any family can move in and be comfortable.

"It's exponentially bigger than anything we've done in our history," Brown said.

But Brown said the primary focus of this project is to create housing for people who typically have a difficult time purchasing a home in today's market.

"Our primary motto you could say is that everyone deserves a safe and decent place to live," he said. "We've worked with a number of refugee families in that past.There's been a lot of focus recently on housing issues for veterans and families with disabilities. They have a particularly hard timewith market home ownership just because of needs with universal design and accessibility."

"We're in a position that we are able to serve those communities so we felt it was the right time to do it," Brown added.

Construction to begin May 2019

Brown said Habitat for Humanity has approached engineering students at UPEIto work on the project and help design energy efficient homes.

"We want to minimize the families' heating and cooling costs," Brown said. He added the project has a goal of being as eco-friendly as possible throughout the construction process.

Four families have already been selected for the first round of homes to be built, Brown said.He said the group plans to break ground on those homes by May 2019. He added the first homes will be built on lots in Harrington, P.E.I.

He said a lot of the work Habitat for Humanity does is completed by volunteers, and the P.E.I. division is always looking for more Islanders who want to help out.

"They do the bulk of the heavy lifting," Brown said. "They're a very important part of this project."

Brown said the group is in the process of accepting applications for the 2020 and 2021 phases of the project and anyone interested in applying can do so through the Habitat for Humanity P.E.I. website.

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