Portage la Prairie has issued some funding to the local Habitat for Humanity program. In these times when inflation and high-priced housing is hitting the country, chair Betty-Jean Checkley explains it was great timing to kick off their program after a two-year hiatus.

"They had that one pot of money that they weren't expecting," explains Checkley. "I had applied to the city and was able to secure some funds toward this build. One of the things that they were excited about was that we were going to do a double-build. They're well aware, too, of the housing situation and how difficult it is for young families in the area. I was able to secure a one-time fund of money from them, which will be channelled through PCRC (Portage Community Revitalization Corporation). One of the things that we like to do is work together with other agencies or other not-for-profits."

The amount of funding provided by the city is $150,000.

"It goes a long way. It's a lot of hot dogs that we don't have to sell," adds Checkley. "I know we've been a bit under the radar lately and it's for many reasons, but largely it has been because of COVID and we just we couldn't even have building inspectors or go in some of the times. It was just difficult."