Sault family looking forward to home ownership

A Sault Ste. Marie family is excited to move into its new home after being selected by Habitat For Humanity to take ownership of the agency's recently completed house on Wellington Street West.

The Aikens family is the 14th local family to move into a Habitat For Humanity home in the Sault. When Tanya Aikens received the call informing her of her successful application, she couldn't believe it.

"Oh my goodness, I was so surprised, so happy," said Aikens. "It was like, honestly, a Christmas miracle because it came in December. It was just out of this world."

Aikens said she's been renting all of her life and is looking forward to the safety and security of owner her own house.

"I am a support attendant, I work for March of Dimes Canada, I've been there 19 years this year," said Aikens, who will be moving in with her son Alexander and grandson Onyx. "I'm just raising my family, doing the best I can like everyone else and trying to get ahead."

Allyson Schmidt, who is on the Board of Directors for Habitat For Humanity Sault Ste. Marie, said the agency looks at a number of factors when selecting a family for home ownership.

"We look at families who are going to be a good fit for the home," said Schmidt. "So, we look at people having the proper number of bedrooms, that sort of thing. We have to look at their income. We look at all these factors when we're weighing because we do weight each application very carefully."

Meantime, Aikens said she can't wait to move in and have her first family dinner in her new home. She's also looking forward to making the property their own.

"Actually decorate and feel like it belongs to us," she said. "Give the kids a chance to express themselves that you couldn’t do in someone else's house. You couldn't design your rooms the way you want to knowing that some day you might have to move."

Habitat For Humanity Sault Ste. Marie is still accepting applications for a fully-accessible home on Blake Avenue. Those will be accepted until Jan. 25. Habitat expects to break ground on the property in the spring.