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The effects of housing insecurity on women

Posted by Habitat Admin on Apr 13, 2016 4:24:07 PM

WB-Feature Women Build Ambassadors (from left to right): Carol, Saba, Tara, Angie, Nichole, Vanisha

“We’ve always lived life with unpacked boxes – not knowing when we’ll have to leave.” This is a challenge facing thousands of families in southern Alberta. But this story has a happy ending.

Nichole and her three children Robert, Mykayla and Michael have recently partnered with Habitat for Humanity. The family fled domestic violence 10 years ago and it had been a struggle since then for them to put down roots. “I felt completely powerless to provide my family with a stable home,” Nichole said.

She’s not alone. Nearly half of all Albertans would struggle to meet their financial obligations if a paycheque was delayed for one week. With high rental rates, lone-income parents face an even greater struggle finding safe and affordable housing.

In Alberta, 82% of all single-parent families are headed by women, and nearly half of those are single mothers who fall into the low-income range. Not only does that impact their own opportunities for education and advanced employment, but it has a significant effect on their children’s development and overall health.

“When you go through some devastating things in life, you become vulnerable,” Nichole said. “There needs to be something for us to grab onto that helps us pull away from that identity and become more than what that vulnerability says we are.”

And that’s exactly what Women Build is all about – empowering families to find strength through home ownership and providing the opportunity for them to pull themselves into a positive future.

“Home ownership plays a role in a lot of things that many people may not realize,” Nichole said. “There’s stability, hope and promise, and that’s been my driving force all along.”

Do you want to be part of making home ownership and stability a reality for more families like Nichole’s? Donate to Women Build today.

Topics: News Story, Women Build