The nationwide housing crisis has shone a light on the important work of organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.

The Newfoundland and Labrador branch has been building homes for low-income families for almost 30 years—more than 30 in the St. John’s area and double that number province-wide.

And yesterday, they announced plans to build three more.

The three-unit structure will go up in a vacant lot next to the community garden on Eric Street—in a modest residential neighbourhood just west of downtown St. John’s.

The city donated the land, the federal and provincial governments invested $120,000 each, and the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating chipped in with $100,000.

Habitat NL’s executive director Sandra Whiffen acknowledged the need for everyone to up their game given the current housing crunch.

“We have to be innovative and think outside the box in the housing options. We have to work together more with our partners, our community partners, businesses, contractors, we have to work together to come up with solutions for this.”

The completion date for the new homes is a year from now.