Manitoba aboriginal homeownership program to lose funding
A Manitoba program that helps aboriginal people buy homes is in jeopardy after the province announced Friday it plans to stop contributing funding toward down payments for families in need.
The program, Manitoba Tipi Mitawa, helped Shelley Peebles sign her first mortgage recently.
”I never thought it would be here,” said Peebles. “But here it is.”
Peebles rented for years under the assumption that owning a home was the stuff of fantasy.
But after scrimping and saving, and thanks to the Manitoba Tipi Mitawa, her dreams came true.
“I guess the biggest obstacle was to save the money for the down payment,” said Peebles. “Being a single parent, it’s not always easy to save that extra money.”
Peebles and her son are the fourteenth family to get a 15 per cent down payment since 2009.
The Manitoba Real Estate Association kicks in five per cent; the province, 10 per cent.
Harry DeLeeuw, co-chair of Manitoba Tipi Mitawa, said to qualify candidates must be aboriginal, and have a steady job and good credit score.
According to DeLeeuw, 27 per cent of aboriginal people own a home, compared to 72 per cent of the general population.
“What our program does is provides stability, that is really the key, stability within the family unit, stability in education, in schooling,” he said.
But the stability of the program is up in the air.
“Manitoba Housing is now shifting focus to other projects,” said a spokesperson with the province. “We did provide four years of funding for this program, and the program retains the remaining $126,000 we allocated to put towards remaining projects.”
The Assembly of Manitoba chiefs said the program is crucial for the community.
“We want to have good lives just like everyone else,” said Jason Whitford, program manager with Eagle Urban Transition Centre. “We want our kids going to good schools, we want our families healthy.”
Peebles said having a place to put down long term roots gives her a sense of independence.
“It’s my house, I can decorate it how I want to, do with it what I want, and don’t have to live on someone else’s terms,” said Peebles.
The province has allotted a total of $767,618 to Manitoba Tipi Mitawa, $641,618 of which has been used to put people in homes to date.
