While they won’t finish quite as quickly as they’d at first hoped, two new builds for Brandon’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity are nearing completion and are expected to be done this summer.
A build that began in May of 2025 on Stickney Avenue, which will become part of a larger group of builds by the organization, is the first item to tick off the list of an extremely busy summer for the group often referred to as H4H. Originally they’d hoped to be done by the end of this month, but that timeline has been pushed back very slightly.
“We’re finishing off the two homes on Stickney that were projected to be finished for this month, they’re just a little bit delayed,” said Bonnie Boerchers, community engagement manager for the Brandon chapter of Habitat for Humanity Manitoba. “We’re just finishing up some work and a few things in the basement, making sure everything is ready for our families, but they should be good to go to hand over to the families late summer.”
Once those builds are completed, new builds for 2026 will get underway. They have one final home to build on Franklin Street to finish the development there. The plan is to go right back to work on an expanding development shortly after.
“We get to move down to Assiniboine Gardens and start our new development down there,” said Boerchers. “Assiniboine Gardens is at 6th Street North, and that’s going to see us with another 30 lots where we can help provide families with affordable home ownership.”
If it sounds like this is a lot to pack into a single summer, that’s because it is. Build season is a hectic time for Habitat for Humanity Brandon as they try to accomplish as much as they can before the weather becomes uncooperative.
“The build season is always busy and always exciting,” Boerchers said. “We get to see lots of volunteers coming out with our team builds, we get the families up and ready and excited for their houses. It’s a great time.”
At the moment, the most urgently needed volunteers are those sitting on the family selection committee, though volunteers for build sites are also needed. Volunteers can contact Boerchers directly at bboerchers@habitat.mb.ca or call the Brandon office.
Boerchers added the rising cost of materials has made building homes more expensive, but those costs have been climbing since 2020 and while it is more challenging, they’ve still had a lot of success building homes.
