'Meant the world': Whitehorse family celebrates Habitat for Humanity home

Habitat for Humanity's work to build homes for low income families has meant the world to his family, says Whitehorse resident Jeff Wolsynuk.

A dedication ceremony in the Whistle Bend neighbourhood was held Thursday for a new duplex — the 15th and 16th homes built in Yukon by Habitat for Humanity since 2004.

Wolsynuk lives in one half with his partner Tanya Butler and children Zahara, Leandra, Baelean and Jemma.

The family was involved in the construction right from the beginning, said Butler.

"I had lots of say," she said.

"They let me pick the paint, the flooring, pretty much everything. We even got to move the walls a little bit, make some rooms bigger and some rooms smaller."

The family moved into their home in January.

Wolsynuk said any family that can't afford a mortgage in Whitehorse's high-priced market should consider applying to Habitat for Humanity.

"Meant the world," he said.

"We've tried a few other ventures with the low (income) housing, with trailers and other things like that, and other than upkeep on them, it just sinks you, sinks you, sinks you." 

How it works

Several components go into the financing, Wolsynuk said.

The market value of their three bedroom, two bath, half-duplex is $380,000, which must be repaid in full under Canada's tax laws, said Stu Mackay, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Yukon.

Their down payment is 500 "sweat hours." Wolsynuk helped with the construction in his spare time from his job and Butler made lunch twice a week for the volunteers who built the home. They'll finish their hours on future Habitat projects.

The family has a zero-interest $280,000 mortgage from Yukon Housing which is being paid back through monthly payments, Wolsynuk said. The second mortgage of $140,000 is owed to Habitat to Humanity, but isn't paid back until the home is sold.

That financing system should be the model for the rest of Canada, said volunteer John Roe of Mississauga, Ont.

"Affordability as you know, right across Canada, is a big issue, so hats off to Yukon, hats off to you guys because you've really got it all together. It's been a real pleasure working here," Roe said.

He's worked on Habitat for Humanity homes in 20 countries around the world. People's circumstances differ, he said, but people themselves are the same.

"You see a lovely house like this ... I think in Cambodia there was a little house on stilts we built in a week, but for the family going into it, it was paradise after seeing the conditions they were living in, so everything is relative," Roe said.

Mackay said Habitat for Humanity will begin building another duplex in Whistle Bend by early July.