'My kids can grow up in this house': Habitat completes 1st home on Lennox Island
Sark home is Habitat for Humanity's first build in Lennox Island First Nation
After several years of bouncing around between different homes, Kelly Sark finally has the keys to her very own house — a three-bedroom home for her, and her two children.
The house was built by Habitat for Humanity P.E.I., and it's the organization's first build in Lennox Island First Nation.
After spending hundreds of hours on the build site, alongside many volunteers, putting up walls and laying down floors, Sark is excited to make the house a home.
"It's amazing, because I can, my kids can, grow up in this house, and they can say, 'My mom helped build this house,'" Sark said.
5 homes planned for Lennox Island
Habitat for Humanity P.E.I. signed an agreement with Lennox Island First Nation in 2018, with plans to partner together to build five homes for band members. Work began on the first home in 2019.
"It's well known, [the] housing issues that First Nations face right across Canada," said Habitat for Humanity P.E.I. CEO Aaron Brown.
"We wanted to be part of the bigger solution to help ease a bit of that strain."
Brown said there was "a lot of uptake" in the call for applications, and the most common issue staff saw was overcrowding.
"A lot of people in a house that wasn't big enough to accommodate that many people. And you know families want space to grow and play and that type of thing," Brown said.
Madlene Sark is a councillor with Lennox Island First Nation, and she agreed overcrowding is "absolutely" a concern in the community.
"I think that's a common need across Prince Edward Island. However for us in our small community, we have limited resources, so we have to be creative, and we have to look for partnerships," she said.
'Beyond excited'
Kelly Sark has experienced the housing crunch first-hand. After moving back to Lennox Island from Cape Breton two years ago she and her family have moved several times.
"It was just hectic. It was bouncing everywhere with my kids. So now I'm just really glad to have my own home where I don't have to get up and go now."
She'd tried finding something bigger than her small apartment, but hadn't had any luck.
"It's frustrating because there's not a whole lot of options, and when there is options, the rent is sky high. And it's only like so much houses or apartments that's available," she said.
After receiving the keys to the house, her children — Jakoby, 8, and Shanaya, 7 — ran through the house with wide smiles, checking out their new bedrooms and all the nooks and crannies.
"They're beyond excited," said Sark.