Future homeowners each used a golden shovel to break ground on the Forbes Street site of their new homes Friday morning. Habitat for Humanity’s Heartland district paired up with the international non-profit organization, Christian Horizons, to provide stable homes for Londoners in need.
Habitat for Humanity Heartland district stretches across Perth, Elgin and Oxford counties.
One of the homes will be for the Munoz family. Carlos Munoz was joined by his wife Claudia and one of his two children, Diego.
“We’re looking forward to having our own place, a place to call our own.” said Munoz. “We’re just excited that everything we do is for ourselves and not for anyone else.”
The Munoz family immigrated to Canada a decade ago from Colombia. Carlos says the reason why they left was for their family.
“Safety. It was for safety concerns, and this is the best place to be. We love Canada.”
The Munoz family heard about Habitat for Humanity through a co-worker of Carlos’ and applied immediately. When the family found out their application was approved, they were overwhelmed with joy.
The Munoz family will be neighbours to three men who are currently housemates.
Justin Thomas, Chris Petrie and Ross Wilson all have developmental disabilities. Christian Horizons supports the men through the services they provide.
The CEO of Habitat’s Heartland district, Brian Elliot was there to welcome the crowd of more than 30 people. Elliot says the feeling of being able to help families and people in need is incomparable.
“When you see the smiles on the families and as the families grow and mature in their homes, you know that you’ve made a significant impact in their lives – even better, they’ve made a significant impact in the communities they live in.”
Elliot said that for every dollar put into a Habitat for Humanity House, four dollars is returned to the community.
Alongside the future homeowners, Elliot and Bacon were joined by local donors and London-West MP Kate Young.
The foundations are set for each house, and are expected to be opened to live in before the end of the year.