City Family Make Home Ownership Dream Come True

One Saint John family is thankful for something that happened in 2020 — they have a new home made possible through Habitat for Humanity in the Saint John Region.

Tara Leblanc and her two sons, 13-year-old son Kalvin and eight-year-old Kason, moved into their new home on Pokiok Road in May.

Leblanc said becoming a homeowner was a dream she had for a long time.

“I have lived in low-income housing for almost ten years now so we were in a not great neighbourhood surrounded by a lot of not great things. This gives us security and it’s in a nice neighbourhood and we have lots of room to grow now too,” said Leblanc.

“It has an unfinished basement so I can do what I would like with that. The top floor has three bedrooms. It’s very open-concept. It’s gorgeously built, it’s an amazing house,” Leblanc said.

Leblanc and her family have a three-floor duplex with a big backyard.

She says instead of coming up with a down payment to buy the house, they had to contribute 500 volunteer hours known as “sweat equity”.

“We volunteer a lot anyway so, it wasn’t very hard for us. The 500 hours can be made up from friends, family and the community. You don’t have to do it all yourself but it also gives back to the community and you get a house out of it so, it’s very worth it,” Leblanc said.

Dave Seely is the board chair for Habitat for Humanity in the Saint John Region.

“Decent housing makes family’s lives better. It’s a foundation where families become healthier, where kids leave for school in the morning and do their homework at night, where parents rest from one day and plan for the next. In decent housing, walls are strong and roofs are secure — and the family inside focuses more on thriving than surviving,” Seely said.

Habitat for Humanity staff and board members, the Leblanc family and more took part in a physically-distanced dedication ceremony on Oct. 2.

Leblanc said was a beautiful ceremony, adding it was nice to make it official that it’s really her house.