Habitat for Humanity and ArcelorMittal team up to make home ownership a reality for a Montreal family

Photo caption: Maurice (center with the keybox), the new homeowner, holds the keys to his new house, surrounded by Gilles Quenneville, General Manager, Human Resources and Legal Affairs, ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada (next to Maurice with white shirt) as well as members of his family and Habitat for Humanity Quebec representatives.

ArcelorMittal has been a worldwide partner of Habitat for Humanity (HfH) for years, supporting their mission to address the housing needs of communities in needs. Since 2008, our company has donated more than US $4million for projects in diverse areas such as Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica and Ukraine, helping over 600 families.

In 2013, Canada was selected as the recipient of an ArcelorMittal grant for HfH, and funds were attributed to the Montreal (Quebec) region. Along with many metropolitan areas in North America, this city has a number of pockets of poverty, especially in the southwest region of the island. This is why the “Turcot Project” was selected as a sector where an HfH home could be built with ArcelorMittal’s support, especially since the Long Products Canada segment has a wire mill a few miles away from the area.

“Our St-Patrick (Montreal) wire mill is more than 100 years old, opening in 1914” says Gilles Quenneville, General Manager, Human Resources and Legal Affairs, Long Products Canada. “It was therefore natural to select this part of the city to invest the ArcelorMittal grant and contribute to its overhaul.”

Since the first ground breaking event in 2013, a lot of activity has taken place in the area. This neighbourhood currently has no greenery and no green space or park area for families and children to enjoy. It also does not have any pedestrian walkways and there is only one way to enter and exit this neighbourhood as it is surrounded on one side by a railroad, on the other side by a major freeway and on the third side by an unsafe tunnel. It feels like a forgotten pocket of this community. The project is part of a series of initiatives by HfH and the City of Montreal to breathe new life into this area.

HfH allows families to benefit from an affordable and sustainable no-interest, no down-payment mortgage, helping them avoid making impossible choices between rent and other basic necessities by providing them with a mortgage they can afford. The owners also have to commit to 500 hours of HfH volunteerism as a way to “give back”. The house sponsored by ArcelorMittal has been awarded to the family of Maurice and Lucie, refugees from Uganda who came to Canada in 2000. They now have five children and are living in a small apartment with heating issues, which are hard to bear especially considering harsh Canadian winters. They received the keys to their new home during a ceremony held on October 20 in front of HfH partners and other dignitaries.

Aside from the grant, ArcelorMittal was involved in making the home a reality through participation in volunteerism events with its employees. A dozen workers from the St-Patrick mill spent their entire day on September 10 to work on the house; then, on October 12, members of Long Products Canada’s Management Committee also got their hands dirty and had the opportunity to meet Maurice, the future homeowner.

We’re more than happy to support Habitat for Humanity’s mission which helps us be an active and welcomed member of our community, as part of ArcelorMittal’s sustainability objectives. Congratulations to Maurice, Lucie and their family for their new home – there is certainly a bright future in front of them!