Homes For The Holidays

In December, the idea of “home” carries a particular weight. For many, the holidays arrive with familiar comforts: favourite meals, familiar routines and the quiet sense of belonging that marks the season. But, for families living with unstable housing, December can instead bring uncertainty. When rent rises faster than wages, or when a family has been forced to move several times in a year, the holidays can feel less like a time of gathering and more like a time of holding on.

Across Southern Alberta, this reality is becoming more common. Even families with steady jobs are struggling to keep up with the cost of living. Parents who already work full time are still facing difficult decisions about food, rent and child care. Children are changing schools repeatedly as leases end and rents increase. Crowded apartments and shared bedrooms are becoming the only option for many working households.

These are not families on the margins. As Gerrad Oishi, MBA’99, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta, explains: “They all have good jobs, they work really hard, but the nature of those salaries, relative to the cost of living in southern Alberta, means that these families can really struggle.”

This winter, Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta (Habitat) is working to change that. The organization is on track to complete two full city blocks of affordable homes in before the end of December 2025. If everything comes together, 82 children will celebrate the holidays in a home their family owns (in areas like Livingston and Bayview). For many, it will be the first time they decorate a tree without worrying about having to pack it up in January. And it may be the first time they’ve fallen asleep during the holidays knowing they will still be there in the spring.

At the centre of this effort is Oishi, a graduate of the Haskayne School of Business MBA program. His path to leading one of the largest Habitat affiliates in Canada began with a question that would reshape his career: What if business could be used to create community good?

 

A Career Reimagined

Oishi did not begin his professional life in the non-profit sector. After earning an engineering degree from the University of Alberta, he entered Alberta’s energy industry in a role familiar to many graduates. Engineering eventually led him toward the business side of the sector, where he realized he needed a deeper understanding of finance. That realization brought him to the University of Calgary for his MBA.

During his program, he and his classmates began exploring the early concepts of what would later be called social enterprise. 

“We didn’t have a term for it back then, but it fascinated me,” Oishi says. “I started doing projects on a volunteer basis to explore how could we use business principles to advance community good.” The projects grew until he realized this was more than a side interest; it was his calling.

Not everyone understood the shift. Oishi laughs when he remembers the reactions of his third-generation Japanese Canadian family.

“I think the greatest questions came from my parents,” he says. “When I got an engineering degree and I entered the energy sector, they thought, that’s great, our son is set. And when I got my MBA and I worked in finance, they thought: well, banking, that’s okay, too.” 

But, when Oishi began exploring social enterprise, his parents Gilbert and Rose, both educators, questioned how it would work. 

“They sort of wondered, how are you going to make a living at that?” Oishi says.

The concept, however, has grown significantly since then. Today, social enterprise is widely recognized across sectors, and Habitat is one of its strongest examples.

A Model Designed for Long-Term Stability

Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta is a large and complex operation. 

“We are doing $24 million of land development and construction,” Oishi says. “We basically operate a $60-million bank. We operate a $6-million ReStore.” 

Every part of that work supports the creation of affordable housing.

The most defining element of the model is the mortgage structure. Instead of offering charity or subsidized rent, Habitat builds homes that families purchase through a no-down payment, interest-free mortgage tailored to their income. The families’ monthly payments do not go back into traditional lending institutions. They go directly into building the next home.

“Every city block that we’re able to finish not only helps families in perpetuity, but it helps us create an engine to build more housing and more housing for our community,” Oishi says.

The approach becomes especially powerful when considering who Habitat serves. Many partner families are employed in essential jobs that keep cities functioning. 

“They work in IT support, another works in construction, and one of them is a personal care assistant at a seniors facility,” Oishi says. “They all work really hard, but their incomes relative to the cost of living mean that they can struggle.”

Some families move multiple times a year. Others live in severely overcrowded conditions. One recent partner family is a household of eight living in a two-bedroom apartment. Others face choices between paying rent or buying groceries.

“We think that if you have a job in Calgary or in Southern Alberta, that you’re okay,” Oishi says. “But what we see is the reality that people are moving three times a year, trying to afford rent.”

What “Home” Really Means

The impact of stable housing becomes clear in the stories partner families share. One mother with two children, including a son with special needs, told Oishi how drastically her life changed after becoming a Habitatpartner. Before Habitat, she worked seven days a week to keep up with bills. After moving into her Habitat home, she told him, “Now I can work five (days a week). I have my weekends to be free with my boys.” 

Oishi reflects on it simply: “These are very powerful moments.”

Another moment he carries with him happened at a recent home dedication. He asked a young girl what she was most excited about as her family prepared to move into their new home, expecting her to mention a bedroom or a yard. Instead, she said she was looking forward to having a best friend, explaining that her family had moved so often, she had never stayed in one place long enough to make one. 

“It really shows you that home is not just the structure,” Oishi says. “It is a sense of belonging that allows so many things to happen.”

Shaped by Calgary’s Entrepreneurial Spirit

Oishi credits his time at the Haskayne School with broadening his understanding of Calgary’s business community. 

“It gave you a window and an opportunity to meet with so many different business people and businesses in general,” he says. That exposure helped him see the many ways organizations could be built, grown and sustained.

Oishi believes Calgary’s entrepreneurial culture still influences his work today. 

“We meet so many entrepreneurs,” he says. “Certainly, from a social enterprise perspective, you want to learn from those people who took a small idea and grew it.” 

Habitat now draws on that mindset as it explores new ways to scale its impact. 

“We are looking at everything we do and ask ourselves: is there a way that we can double our impact? Is there a way that we can triple?” Oishi says.

Building Something Lasting

For Oishi, the heart of the work is simple. 

“I really admire the families we help,” he says. “They are doing so many things right.” 

The families, he says, “work hard, raise children” and, most importantly, contribute to their communities. 

“It’s just an income issue,” he says. 

What these families want for their children are similar to what typically every parent wants for their family: stability, opportunity and a place to belong.

In a season that often invites reflection, Habitat for Humanity’s work serves as a reminder that home is a point of connection and stability that allows people to engage fully in their communities. It is something that grows stronger when people come together to build it.