A common misconception about Habitat is that our homes are a handout, but what we actually provide is affordable homeownership, with low-income partner families repaying the full market value of their home over time. Last year, the lives of 227 families struggling to break the cycle of poverty began to be transformed as they moved into Habitat homes built in communities across Canada. Homeownership can change lives.

Not being able to access affordable home ownership is a major barrier to Canada's most vulnerable families getting ahead. Over the past decades, the wealth of Canadian renters went from being 20 times less than that of homeowners in 1969 to a startling 70 times less when this measure was last taken in 1999.