Purchase a Home 2 - Pogosyan Family

Following the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, tens of thousands of people were left homeless in the City of Gyumri. Many of these families took refuge in the overseas shipping containers (domiks) that were shipped into Armenia loaded with humanitarian relief supplies, or in condemned buildings. An entire generation of children have grown up in deplorable conditions, often times with no running water and little or no heat. The Armenian government has provided most of the families that lost their homes in the Earthquake with new housing units.

As people moved out of those makeshift housing units, others moved in. The 2,500 or so families that remain are Gyumri’s desolate families, who are not in line to receive a government provided apartment. Many of these families are comprised of single mothers, multiple children and/or the disabled.

This project will identify suitable needy families who can be moved into a new apartment and can demonstrate that they can afford their monthly expenses. Agreements will be signed passing ownership of the apartment to the chosen family, with the stipulation that until their youngest child reaches 18 years of age, the family cannot sell, rent or move. This is a sustainable model in that families that have been moved into permanent housing in the past have had a high degree of success maintaining their families and their new homes.

Once the move is complete, the make shift housing unit will be destroyed to prevent its future occupancy.

The Pogosyan family was living in a domik in Gyumri.  A few days before Christmas 2012, their domik caught fire and completely burnt.  What few family possessions they owned were lost.  The Pogosyan family and their six children were given temporary shelter in a relative’s domik.