The first year in a new home is a special time for everyone.
But one Red Deer family is all the more appreciative during this time of Thanksgiving.
Terina Paré and her husband Shawn Galley moved into one of the Habitat for Humanity Red Deer Region homes in Johnstone Park in March with their son Owen, now age 4. Two months later their daughter Alayna was born and she is now 4 months old.
The new home has made all the difference for the young growing family.
“We don’t have to go to a landlord to go ahead and say we can do this. We can just do it,” Paré said. “We have a family and we’re not squished into a fourplex. We have the room.”
She said she is pleased that now the money they put towards their home is paying their mortgage rather than a landlord’s.
The neat front yard leading up to their home has a small tree and the back has a swingset for Owen. By next year they’d like to put a fence up as well. Eventually Paré would like to have a garden in the backyard and finish the basement in the home.
Paré, 25, has furnished the home and found lots of items for her young children through websites like Kijiji and groups like Freecycle, which has allowed her to get items for free or for a great deal. Galley’s family has helped them by purchasing some of the kitchen appliances.
Paré said there are a lot of people that don’t know about Habitat for Humanity Red Deer Region and the help they can provide people. The young couple first found out about the group from one of Paré’s friends.
After an intensive application process they were one of the families chosen.
And then the work began.
The couple put 500 volunteer hours into building the home along with other volunteers. For the first year they will pay rent on the home and then next March they will take over the mortgage, which is more manageable because it doesn’t involve hefty interest charges.