Wins For Habitat For Humanity VIN At National Conference

Habitat for Humanity Canada celebrated the achievements of eight local Habitats during its national conference in Ontario this May.

Habitat for Humanity Canada celebrated the achievements of eight local Habitats during its national conference in Ontario this May. The Vancouver Island North affiliate, based out of Courtenay and Campbell River, brought two awards back to the island with them.

Peter Sanderson received the prestigious Kenneth J. Meinert Leadership Award which honours individuals who, through exceptional leadership, have significantly advanced the mission of Habitat for Humanity in Canada. The winner of this award may also designate a $10,000 grant to their chosen area of Habitat’s work. 

Habitat VIN also received the Family Partnership Award which celebrates an affiliate that has achieved better family engagement and better outcomes for families over the term of their partnership by improving communications, processes, homeowner educational and training opportunities and expectation setting. 

Over the course of 2021, Habitat VIN improved processes to continue to develop and maintain successful relationships and positive collaboration with Habitat homeowners at every stage of their journey. This included revamping the homeownership education course with the help of current homeowners and implementing a “3-months until move-in” plan to help reduce stress.

They implemented a pre-qualification questionnaire for potential applicants and improved application paperwork for readability and comprehension. They also have volunteers in place who can support people with barriers to completion of the application, whether the barrier is literacy, language, or technology.

Habitat VIN credits local Habitat homeowners with this win for demonstrating excellent partnership and collaboration.