It was almost two years to the day since Malcolm Pelletier and Joyce Nesbitt found out they would be receiving a Habitat for Humanity home, and they were excited to move in and start a new life for themselves and their children, Darnell, Keisha, Cole, Shay-lynn and Makayla. The family has now received the keys to the second Habitat build in the city, located at 13 Elizabeth Ave.
The family says it's been a long process, and it's taken a lot of hard work to get to this point and finally move into their home. The hard work has paid off and created a home that the family is excited to move into and start their new life.
Nesbitt says one of the things she is excited about for the new home is being able to have a meal with the entire family, as in their old home there wasn't enough space for a family of seven. She notes that now all the kids have their own space, and that it's going to make it much easier to live.
"It's going to be nice to actually sit at the table... just to have our family talks again will be nice," Nesbitt says.
The home will be less expensive to own than the home they were living in before, and Nesbitt says that this house means her family has a brighter future than ever before.
"We've got something to look forward to now, and to keep us going as a family, just to keep us together really."
Dennis Coots, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Regina, says that while this is the second build in Yorkton, he hopes the city will see significantly more builds each year into the future. He notes that this specific build took much longer than usual due to the flooding in the city in 2010, but now they want to push harder than ever, and build three or four homes each year.
Habitat homes have an interest-free mortgage, and the payments from that mortgage go to finance new builds in the community. The down payment is made in sweat equity, with each family putting in a minimum of 500 hours. The Pelltier/Nesbitt family went above and beyond that requirement, putting in a total of 800 hours into their home and the build which is currently in progress on Dunlop St.
"To see a family do more than 500 hours encourages every single person who gets involved and every person involved in Habitat. It's encouraging and motivates us," Coots says.
Pelltier says one of the reasons he was motivated to put in so many hours was a desire to learn, and see how a house is built and put together.
"We wanted to see what all went in a house, and it's amazing what we learned building this house. You wouldn't think what's behind a wall, we never knew anything about building a house."
The family says they're grateful to Habitat for Humanity, and they're also planning to be a part of builds well into the future. Nesbitt encourages others to get involved as well, saying that participating in a build is a lot of fun and something which makes a difference.
"We'll be there for the next one, the next dozen, whatever it takes," Pelltier adds.
The next Habitat build will not have nearly the same wait, with the home on Dunlop St. expected to be complete this summer. Those who want to get involved can visit www.habitatyorkton.ca.
