Here at Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga, we’re always happy to have advocates in our local government, and one Member of Parliament that has been steadfast in her support of our organization is Oakville North—Burlington MP Pam Damoff.
Pam’s involvement with Habitat began when the organization built two semi-detached homes on Elmwood Road in 2010. A Town Councillor in Oakville, the build was in Pam’s riding. She attended the groundbreaking and other events, and continued to work with Habitat while serving on the council.
“Since I’ve been a Member of Parliament, working with Habitat has been one of the highlights of my work as an MP,” Pam says. “I love the people here, I love the work that’s being done.”
Housing, Pam says, provides the basis for everything else in life. “You can’t be making it to work if your kids are cold and you have to be moving, couch surfing from place to place and you don’t have a place to live, so [housing] really does provide that foundation.”
Canada’s federal government invested in housing through their $40 billion, 10-year National Housing Strategy (NHS).
“With our investments, we’re hoping that that will move it forward quickly so that we can get more people in affordable housing, but quite frankly we can’t do it without partners on the ground, and Habitat is one of those partners to really accelerate how we’re getting people into affordable housing,” Pam says.
In addition to the NHS, one way that Pam has directly supported Habitat is through her involvement in the Canada Summer Jobs program.
“The Canada Summer Jobs program is a program that provides funding to charities, not-for-profits and small business to employ students over the course of the summer,” Pam explains. “It’s a program that I have personally pushed to get more funding for my riding, because I see the benefit for students to have meaningful employment for the summer to go back and continue their studies.”
Habitat was excited to welcome 10 summer students to our Burlington office this summer (follow this link to meet our students!). Our summer students have worked in a variety of roles related to their areas of study, allowing them to gain skills for future employment. They’ve also brought immense benefits to our organization, such as helping to train volunteers, bring in donations and promote our programs.
From all of us here at Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga, thank you, Pam, for your continued support of our organization!