For Gabriel and Jennifer, becoming Habitat homeowners is about giving their growing family something they have long hoped for: a safe, stable, affordable place to call home.

The two met in college in 2017 while studying Inuit Studies. Jennifer is originally from Arctic Bay, Nunavut, while Gabriel’s family is from Kugluktuk, Nunavut, and he grew up in Yellowknife. When Gabriel and Jennifer moved into a one-bedroom apartment in 2018, they had no idea how quickly their family would grow. After welcoming their first child, the apartment was still manageable for the three of them but they started to think about needing a bigger space as their daughter was growing.

They looked for better jobs to get a larger, two-bedroom apartment and after welcoming another baby, they quickly realized their family needed more room for their children to grow. Unfortunately, the housing they could afford did not offer the kind of environment they wanted for their family. That changed when Gabriel heard about Habitat for Humanity through his mother and a coworker. The family looked into the homeownership program and decided to apply.

“Having a house of our own means that as our babies grow up, they have a place to call their own and also to have a safe space to call our own.”

Homeownership also holds a deeply personal meaning for Gabriel. When his family first moved to Yellowknife, his parents had the opportunity to purchase a home but decided against it because they did not expect to stay permanently. Years later, Gabriel’s mother told him she regretted not having purchased a home of their own. Now, becoming a homeowner is one more way Gabriel can honour his late mother while creating the stability for their family she had once hoped for.