At her housewarming party in Elmwood, Stephanie Edwards remembers what life was like before she owned her own home.
The mom of six works full-time in Winnipeg and had grown tired of living in rental units, something she had done for 17 years but the idea of home ownership seemed like a distant reality.
A program offered by Roseau River First Nation's Ginew Housing Authority for the past year has helped her attain her goal sooner than she thought.
“When I heard about it I just thought that’s something that I want and something that I hoped to get,” said Edwards. “It’s nice to own your own house.”
Edwards is one of six people who has received money from the housing authority for a down payment to buy a home.
To be eligible, you have to be at least 18 and you must qualify for a mortgage. The housing authority said it helps band members with the application process.
“When we had the opportunity to provide cash equity to our tribal members, if they were qualified for a mortgage, then we would supply the money down that they needed," said Ginew Housing Authority president Evelyn Patrick. "A lot of times our members just don’t have the money to put down for mortgages.”
The down payment provided to people is for up to $15,000 to buy a home off reserve and doesn't have to be paid back as long as homeowners keep their homes for at least four years. After that people are free to do what they want with the home they buy.
So far, a total of $71,000 has been used to help band members with down payments.
Four homes have been purchased in Winnipeg, one in Altona and one in Morris.
Urban housing manager Angie Prince-Smoke said seeing band members take ownership of a home is a “surreal” feeling.
“There’s not a lot of communities out there doing this,” said Prince-Smoke. “This is a success story to us.”
“These are six families with how many kids, so I’m really happy about that.”
“They should focus on the reserve first”: Roseau River resident
Patrick said a portion of the funding for the program came from a land settlement claim while the rest comes from revenue from 29 rental units in Winnipeg operated by the housing authority.
Roseau River First Nation resident Derek Cassidy said that money would be better spent fixing up homes on reserve.
“Right now it doesn’t look good for us on reserve,” said Cassidy. “It looks good for other people that are receiving the money.”
He said his house needs repairs because cold air is getting in due to missing siding and a crumbling window frame.
“I have to leave my stove on all winter,” said Cassidy. “The snow comes in through the door and the windows.”
Last month, Cassidy got a disconnection notice from Manitoba Hydro because he owes $3,900.
“They should focus on the reserve first,” said Cassidy. “There is people moving away because there’s no housing.”
The housing authority said it currently has 50 people on a waiting list for on-reserve housing.
Around 1,200 people live in the community which has a total of 197 homes.
The Ginew Housing Authority said there's an application process for renovations on certain homes, including Cassidy's, through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The housing authority said Cassidy hasn't completed the application but Cassidy said it's not only his home which is in need of repairs.
Patrick said the housing authority doesn’t get specific funding to repair on-reserve, band-owned homes.
Patrick said part of the responsibility for maintaining homes on reserve lies with tenants and that choosing to use revenue from Winnipeg rental properties to help with down payments for people to buy homes off-reserve was done for a reason.
"The idea was to have something tangible come out of our urban housing," said Patrick.
The housing authority has asked Roseau River First Nation chief and council to match money put into the program dollar-for-dollar to replenish funding for future years.
Chief Craig Alexander couldn’t be reached for comment on the initiative.
The housing authority said more applicants are interested in applying for help with a down payment.
