Habitat for Humanity Niagara looking to restore services
Habitat for Humanity Niagara says discussions are underway on how to safely resume construction on a single-family home in Port Colborne.
Construction on the home on Wellington Street was halted when the province declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The home is being built in partnership with Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management Board’s Indigenous Youth Building Futures Program and will house a single mother and her two children.
In addition to stopping construction, Habitat shut down all three of its ReStore operations in Pelham, St. Catharines and Grimsby.
Wednesday, the organization headed by Welland’s Mark Carl said it was taking the first step toward reopening its operations with a phased approach by reopening its Grimsby ReStore on June 2.
“We are determined to reopen our doors to serve our community and continue to make a difference in Niagara,” said Carl, Habitat Niagara’s chief executive officer, in a release.
“We are taking a phased approach to do this and have been working diligently to put policies and procedures in place so that we can begin to safely and carefully reopen our organization.”
The health and safety of customers and team members is its No. 1 priority, it said in the release.
At its Grimsby ReStore, Plexiglass sneeze guards have been installed and a rigorous cleaning protocol has been implemented along with additional measures in compliance with public health protocols.
Team members will be wearing face masks, and Habitat is asking shoppers to do the same.
The Grimsby ReStore will be operating with reduced retail and donation hours over the next few weeks to give the organization additional time to clean, sanitize and restock merchandise.
It will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and donations can be dropped off Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
The donation drop-off area will be contact-free, Habitat is asking donors to remain in their vehicles while they remove the donations.
All donations will be quarantined for 24 hours, cleaned and disinfected prior to being placed for sale in the store.
Free donation pickups will also be available throughout the Niagara region for larger donations, and this too will be contactless.
All kitchen removals through the nonprofit’s salvage program remain on hold, however, kitchen cabinets will continue to be picked up.
Habitat will assess procedures in place for the Grimsby ReStore before reopening its other two locations.