The Critical Repairs Program serves people living with lower incomes who own a home but have much-needed repairs they cannot afford to complete. A repair is considered critical when it is essential for a family to maintain a safe and habitable home.

According to Statistics Canada, there are 659,800 homes in need of major repairs across Canada, which represents 6.5% of the country’s housing stock. Habitat for Humanity Canada’s Critical Repairs Program, in partnership with local Habitats, meets this demand. By providing critical repairs to extend the livability of existing homes, we help ensure that more people have a safe and decent place to live and that they can remain in their homes for years to come.

This includes homeowners like Angelina, who uses oxygen therapy and a wheelchair and is unable to work. Angelina contacted Habitat for Humanity Manitoba to see about repairing a broken kitchen cupboard that had fallen down.

During an inspection, Angelina shared that her bathtub and shower were not accessible, and for the last two years she had relied on a weekly sponge bath from a caregiver. Habitat Manitoba not only installed and lowered donated Habitat ReStore kitchen cupboards and shortened the counter to increase wheelchair accessibility, it also installed a walk-in shower, giving Angelina the ability to care for herself and restore some of the dignity she had lost during the previous two years.

With your support, the Critical Repairs Program can help more people like Angelina who are in need of a safe and healthy home. Major repairs can include electrical, plumbing, roofing or improvements to accessibility.

Finding new ways to innovate, partner and grow our impact is vital to ensuring we can meet homeowners’ needs and help maintain affordable housing stock across Canada. If you are interested in supporting this program or are a corporation that would like to work in partnership to help it grow, please contact partnerships@habitat.ca