Housing for War Veterans Made Possible with Strategic Partnership Between the Homes For Heroes Foundation, Huntsman Building Solutions, Beyond Foam insulation, and ATCO

Tiny-Home-Rendering

Written by Joe Upper, Director of Sales-ROC, Huntsman Building Solutions Canada

The Homes For Heroes Foundation, who’s mission it is to integrate all homeless military veterans into the community through the provision of housing and support services across Canada, announced a strategic partnership with Beyond Foam Insulation, a Calgary-based family owned and operated spray foam insulation contractors, Huntsman Building Solutions, a global leader in the manufacture and supply of open-cell and closed-cell spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation and coatings, and ATCO, a one-stop provider of integrated energy, housing, transportation and infrastructure solutions.  This partnership sees these four organizations working together to get veterans off the street and back into society as proud and productive citizens, by providing energy efficient insulated homes and services that restore their pride, dignity and self-respect.

 “Our mission is to provide a caring and comprehensive solution to homelessness among our veterans.   To do so, we have partnered with Beyond Foam Insulation, Huntsman Building Solutions and ATCO to build unique, affordable and innovative urban villages to house veterans during their transition back to civilian life and living independently in the long term,” says Cameron H. Diggon, Capt. (Ret’d) and Director of Fund Development for Homes for Heroes Foundation.  “The design of our villages is deliberate and is intended to maximize a sense of community, teamwork and peer-to-peer support.   This approach was developed in direct consultation with our Canadian veterans – it is a program developed by veterans for veterans.”

For one out of every four Canadian Forces members, the process of being released from their military career and transitioning back into the community can be stressful and complex.  Due to the challenges they face in making this transition, veterans are twice as likely as non-veterans to experience homelessness – and female veterans are twice as likely as their male counterparts to be homeless.  In its May 2019 report on Moving Toward Ending Homelessness Among Veterans, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs concluded that up to 5,000 veterans are likely to be homeless in Canada, with likely over 200 in Edmonton.

“Beyond Foam Insulation sees value in supporting our veterans who have sacrificed so much to allow us the luxury of freedom in our great country.  We are truly thankful for their service and are happy to contribute towards this project,” says Curt Janzen, Owner and CEO of Beyond Foam.  “We could not provide quality spray foam product without the support of spray foam manufacturer, Huntsman Building Solutions who is providing us with their Heatlok Soya HFO closed-cell product that contains a total of 22 per cent recycled plastic and renewable soya oil content.  Just one of their resin drums contains up to 3000 plastic bottles that are diverted from landfills.  The installation generates zero waste, zero trash on the jobsite and the product adapts to all surfaces, shapes and volume.”

Homes For Heroes opened its first Veterans’ Village in Calgary on November 1, 2019.  Because companies like Beyond Foam, Huntsman Building Solutions, and ATCO helped, fifteen Veterans were able to get off the street, into a warm and safe home.  The second village, located in Edmonton, will provide over 7,000 bed-nights per year for Veterans experiencing homelessness.   Construction commenced on the tiny homes for the Village on April 7, 2021, and with the help of these partners, Homes For Heroes plans to welcome their first cohort of 20 Veterans-in-need by October 1st.

“We are contributing to home building projects that provide a sense of purpose and a place of hope for Canadian veterans,” says Joe Upper, Director of Sales – ROC with Huntsman Building Solutions.  “Our Heatlok Soya HFO applied by Beyond Foam Insulation will make these homes comfrtable to live in and reduce the cost to veterans from an energy efficiency standpoint.  It’s the highest performing air barrier system out there and it is made from renewable soya and recycled plastics, with low VOC emissions.”

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the assistance we have received from Beyond Foam, Huntsman building Solutions and ATCO’s building partners.  In total, we expect that these contributions in-kind from building and construction partners will fund almost one-third of the cost of the Village,” says Cameron H. Diggon.


About Beyond Foam

Beyond Foam’s Support Program leads the Calgary spray foam insulation industry.  They assess, educate, and stand firmly behind their work. Considered “THE Foam Insulation Experts” in Calgary – Beyond Foam Insulation Ltd. provides spray foam insulation in Calgary and all outlying areas.  Beyond Foam Insulation is a family owned and operated business, serving Calgary and area since 2006. They guarantee the best service during planning, executing and follow-up after all foam insulation projects. For more information, visit www.beyondfoam.com.


About Homes For Heroes Foundation

The Homes For Heroes Foundation is a registered charity developed in response to the growing number of Canada’s veterans who are facing crisis as they return to civilian life and, as a result, find themselves on the path to homelessness.  Their mission is to provide a caring and comprehensive solution to homelessness among our veterans. For more information, visit www.homesforheroesfoundation.ca.


About Huntsman Building Solutions

The Huntsman Building Solutions business is a global leader in high-performance, sustainable building envelope solutions. Its systems and solutions are widely utilized to optimize commercial and residential structures worldwide in both new construction and retrofit applications. Formed in 2020 with the acquisition of Icynene-Lapolla and its combination with Demilec, the Huntsman Building Solutions business capitalizes on legacy industry technologies, environmental stewardship, and the power of the Huntsman brand. For more information, visit huntsmanbuildingsolutions.com.


About Huntsman

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2020 revenues of approximately $6 billion. Our chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. We operate more than 70 manufacturing, R&D and operations facilities in approximately 30 countries and employ approximately 9,000 associates within our four distinct business divisions. For more information about Huntsman, please visit the company’s website at www.huntsman.com.