It's moved from a vague idea to a reality.
Humboldt's Habitat for Humanity group is on its way to building homes for two local families in the new year.
"We're moving right along, progressing quite well," reported Bob Bellamy, who heads the Humboldt Habitat for Humanity project with Ivan Buehler.
"I think it's becoming a reality," said Bellamy. "When you start to organize something, it's a lot of talk, trying to get things in place. But one of the things that indicates this is going to be a reality is that a decision has been made on the land we are going to purchase to build a duplex. To me, that's a big one."
The land is located south of Futuristic Industries and north of the railway tracks on the east side of the city. It's owned by the City of Humboldt right now.
The goal of the Humboldt committee at present is to build one duplex on that property - a home for two families. The hope is to break ground on the building project this spring.
"There is a general feeling among those who are working on this that it will happen. That we will be successful in starting a build and getting it done," said Buehler.
Now, not only has a volunteer board been set up, including a steering committee and subcommittees for fundraising, volunteers and amenities, family selection and the build, but awareness has started to build.
"People are becoming more familiar with it," Bellamy said of Habitat for Humanity.
Habitat for Humanity is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to building simple, decent, affordable housing for low-income families. Community-level offices operate all across Canada, and the project in Humboldt will be affiliated with the Saskatoon branch of Habitat.
Money has also started to come in for the Humboldt project.
"When you get people... and businesses donating money, it's real," said Bellamy.
"We've had one sizable donation and a couple of smaller ones," Buehler noted, and more cheques are coming in all the time, most of them unsolicited.
"People and organizations have been quite good about it," said Bellamy.
"It's a wonderful feeling when people call and want to donate," Buehler said. "It's really heartwarming."
The Good Neighbour Store gave the committee "a huge donation," Bellamy added. "It gave us a really good leg up on the amount we need."
So far, locally, they have raised $14,000. More funds have been collected in Saskatoon.
"We're working with the Saskatoon chapter (of Habitat for Humanity)," Buehler said. "There have been donations made to the Humboldt build directly to Saskatoon. We don't know exactly how much that is yet."
They do know, however, how much they need.
In total, the local committee needs $250,000 of monetary or in-kind donations to building a duplex for two low-income, working families.
The provincial government does provide a grant for projects like this one. Humboldt should get about $100,000 in total from that grant process. However, that cheque won't be written until they have a building permit. The committee needs to be in a position with property and finances to get the city to issue a building permit before they can access those funds.
Besides cash, lumber and building materials - all of which have to be new - can be given. A container has already been donated by Horizon Fertilizer to hold such donations until the build is ready to happen - and tradespeople are more than welcome to donate their time to this project.
They need electricians, plumbers and other trades to do things that need to be certified, like wiring and plumbing, it was noted.
"We need the trades to volunteer their time for certain things," said Buehler.
The labour of volunteers will look after the rest of the build.
"It will be a mix of tradespeople and non-tradespeople needed," said Buehler.
Only one person will be paid out of this whole project, the two noted.
A building manager will be hired and will work pretty much full time during the course of the build. This person will help volunteers, teaching them what they need to do to help with the construction of the duplex, act as the safety officer and pretty much run the build.
It's expected that the build will take anywhere between six and nine months. The local group is hoping to have the duplex done in eight months.
As for who will be living in the homes once they are done, that has yet to be decided.
The family selection subcommittee will be holding orientation sessions for families in Humboldt in January, Bellamy said. Low-income, working families within 50 kilometres of Humboldt will learn how they can be selected to receive a Habitat home.
The families who are eventually selected must put in 500 hours of volunteer labour, Buehler said, and will pay a mortgage on the house, which is held by Habitat for Humanity. That organization works out a payment schedule that is agreeable to the family and to Habitat.
The mortgage payment usually works out to about 25 to 30 per cent of a family's monthly income.
The family selected has to be working, Bellamy stressed, and preference is given to families with children.
Getting one of these houses is not a hand-out, it was noted, but a hand-up.
"It gives (low income earners) an excellent opportunity to really get established and own their own home," Bellamy said.
The Saskatoon Habitat for Humanity team will be doing the initial screening of families for the Humboldt project. Once they have narrowed it down to a few families, the local selection committee will take over, conducting interviews and making the final selection.
Though the Humboldt group so far has no practical experience with a build, according to their counterparts in Saskattoon, "it's totally amazing what families will do to get this opportunity and make it a reality for themselves. It's a dream come true, and we're looking forward to having that here," Buehler said.
There is a need for this type of project in Humboldt, the two believe.
House prices have experienced a huge increase in the past four years, taking home ownership out of reach for many people, even those who work full time.
"How can we expect people who are working at not high-paying jobs to ever have the opportunity to own a home?" Bellamy asked.
Rent is also going up.
"This is a lifeline," he said of Habitat for Humanity. "If you want to work for this, here it is," he said.
"Organizations out there understand that there are people in need, and something like this would be extremely beneficial," Bellamy said.
"There is a need," Buehler echoed.
The recently-started soup kitchen, the local food bank and other porjects, "are reinforcing the idea that there is more of a need maybe than we were conscious of. This is another step towards filling that need," Buehler said.
The local Habitat committee is actively looking for donations right now.
"If anyone is in a giving mood during the festive season and wants to make a last-minute, end-of-the-income-tax-year donation, call," Buehler noted, they will gladly take donations.
Cheques should be made out to "Habitat Saskatoon, Humboldt chapter" to ensure it goes to the local project.
Volunteers are also needed, so people can also donate their time to help this project. Businesses can commit to having their employees take a day to work at the site, doing painting, landscaping, framing or other things.
They will need volunteers to provide food or meals to those working on the duplex as well, Bellamy noted.
Volunteer opportunities are listed on the Humboldt Involved website.
Those wishing to donate to the Humboldt build can contact Bellamy or Buehler directly. Donations can also be made through the Saskatoon Habitat for Humanity chapter website, directly to the Humboldt build.
To contact the local Habitat for Humanity committee, call 231-5611 and leave a message.
