A friend of mine who lives in one of the houses told me that yesterday they got a letter saying that as of June 29 the local Habitat for Humanity chapter will be no more and that they will be running it out of Winnipeg. Its sad that such a good organization will be no more in Brandon. Hopefully this isnt the end of them building homes in the city

Would like a LOT more info on this.....as in the WHY ? of it....  
Adam...had you heard anything ? ? ? ?

I've heard nothing. If anyone close to this alleged situation has more information that you aren't able to or comfortable posting, please click on the contact link at the bottom of any page in the site to get in touch If true i suspect this is something that a lot of people would like more information on, but please at this point only take as a rumour.

From Kate Marshall, National Marketing & Communication Director HFHC  
 
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Habitat for Humanity Canada (HFHC) has decided to transition the management responsibilities for existing partner families and mortgages of our Brandon affiliate to Habitat for Humanity Manitoba (HFHM), our Winnipeg-based affiliate. This marks the end of the Brandon group's formal affiliation.  
 
Most people understand the physical teamwork required for each affordable family home Habitat for Humanity builds, but few understand the operating, governance and administrative teamwork required to support it. Sound operating practices are very much the foundation of every home we build.  
 
The Habitat Brandon group has enthusiastically built 22 homes over 17 years. However, more than two years ago, it was clear that the corresponding level of stewardship required was too great and operational standards were not being met. These standards are mandatory, documented and unconditional for each of our 69 Canadian affiliates.  
 
To be clear, our concerns are not related to ethical misconduct or personal safety issues. Nonetheless, we take our operating standards very seriously. They protect the interests of our organization, affiliates, and local partner families.  
 
The issues were serious enough to warrant disaffiliation, but not so serious that we feel any duty to disclose details publicly.  
 
HFHC will work with our Brandon group and HFH Manitoba to ensure the support for all current partner families is managed appropriately in the transition to HFHM.  
 
HFHC intends to maintain a Habitat presence in Brandon. What that looks like cannot be committed to at this time.  
 
 
 
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What happens to all the land that they have in the east end of Brandon?

at the DUckfarm still in operation?

And I gather there was a meeting last night. Is there any information on what came of it?

Robert Booth said "at the DUckfarm still in operation? "

heard on the radio that the restore will be closing and all items will be shipped to Wnpg. Plans to re-open at a later date.

It is rather frustrating to hear that an organization that local folks donated literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, materials and labour to does not feel the need to disclose what the issues were that warranted closure...

Habitat Restore Will Close  
You'll have to look elsewhere to buy recycled building material.  
Habitat for Humanity is closing it's Restore  
Spokesman Harold Reid says it's just temporary  
Habitat Brandon will close Friday and most duties will be transferred to Winnipeg.  
Reid says the local office can't operate efficiently and effectively.  
Meanwhile, the selection process for the 14 Habitat condos in the Massey building continues  
 
 
 
 
Edited by cmore, 2012-06-27 10:46:35

They have vaccant lots on Percy and I think Franklin Street that the city donated or they paid a dollar for what will happen to those lots? Are they going to continue to build homes?

Does anyone have a link to Habbitat for humanity page??

Was at the Re Store this morning and it was already closed.

pat54 said "Was at the Re Store this morning and it was already closed. "

has never been open on a Wednesday. We ARE open and functioning tomorrow,, Thursday, June 28th 9-5. The items in the restore are NOT being shipped to Wpg, but will instead be held in the current location until the store reopens.  
 
Again, the Restore IS OPEN THURSDAY, JUNE 28th 9-5 !!!

What is the actual problem and how can it be corrected ? ? Is this perimiteritis ....federal government cutbacks in disguise ??  
Caroline....glad to hear store is staying open for a bit...don't really see the need for it closing at all...money from the store can be sent to Winnipeg and redistributed from there. Brandon has a very high rate of new immigrants that could really make use of the store. SAD.

I heard (most of) an interview on CBC Radio Noon with the head guy for Habitat Brandon. From what I can recollect, this is what he said:  
 
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Part of what is happening is that they're moving from a chapter model to a regional model for service delivery, so it will be Habitat Manitoba, servicing not only Winnipeg and Brandon, but also places like Virden, Dauphin and Russell. It should truly be provincial in scope.  
 
The local chapter is run primarily by volunteers, and they are not able to meet the self-imposed standards for accountability, timeliness, etc. The regional model out of Winnipeg should address those issues.  
 
From a service level, not much will change. There will still be some staff here for local participants to deal with. Mortgages will still be paid, as that money is recycled back into new builds.  
 
Homes will still be built, and Brandon is in an enviable position because it already owns a bunch of land to build on, unlike places like Winnipeg who has to buy the land on an as-needed basis. There will be allocation of funds, etc, based on percentage of Habitat builds that occur here (i.e. if there's 100 builds next year province-wide, and Brandon builds 10 of those, then 10% of the provincial funding will go here).  
 
The ReStore will REOPEN probably next month, and all money raised in Brandon will stay for projects here.  
 
The regional office being in Winnipeg will actually help get more supplies, etc, as most of their suppliers are in Winnipeg that they get free or very deeply discounted materials from, and that can be distributed around the province instead of staying exclusively in Winnipeg.  
 
That's all I remember.  
 

A new chapter was formed in Russel, MB. & area, a few months ago.  
They had a meeting June 20 th looking for families.  
 
Did not mean to high jack thread, just wanted to add a positive note about a great organization.

the brandon sun has a story on the closure today in the newspaper and website....apperently the brandon chapter closed because they were not able to meet national standards.  
 
 
 
Edited by The_Young_Man, 2012-06-27 14:20:10

Dale Kerik said "A new chapter was formed in Russel, MB. & area, a few months ago.   They had a meeting June 20 th looking for families.     Did not mean to high jack thread, just wanted to add a positive note about a great organization. "

Is it a new chapter, or just a new branch of the Winnipeg office? Because from what I understood on the radio, all "chapters" will be intergrated into the regional model out of Winnipeg.

Caroline said "    pat54 said "Was at the Re Store this morning and it was already closed. " has never been open on a Wednesday. We ARE open and functioning tomorrow,, Thursday, June 28th 9-5. The items in the restore are NOT being shipped to Wpg, but will instead be held in the current location until the store reopens.     Again, the Restore IS OPEN THURSDAY, JUNE 28th 9-5 !!! "

Thank you for letting us know. I LOVE the re-store (and the great volunteers!) and was extremly sad to hear it was closing. Thank you for letting us know to get our immediate project materials right away.  
Thank you again Caroline

 
Habitat for Humanity Canada, along with HFH Manitoba and Brandon Habitat supporters/former board members, are working together to determine the future and type of Habitat for Humanity operations in Brandon. As this process unfolds over the coming months, and decisions are made, information will be shared with the Brandon community as soon as it is available.