Brittany's Family Story...

Originally from Oregon, Brittany became a single mother in 2011. Brittany and her son Dylan lived with Brittany’s parents and then with friends, but neither of those living situations was ideal for Brittany and Dylan. In 2016, Brittany was offered a job in Elizabeth, Colorado, and decided to pursue the opportunity for a better life with her son Dylan. Two years later, Brittany accepted a position working for the City of Colorado Springs and moved to the city in 2018 with the hope to give Dylan a stable upbringing. Dylan has autism and moving is very difficult for him. Brittany and Dylan now live in a two-bedroom apartment in the city, where the rent has increased steadily over three years. Brittany’s rent is “uncomfortably high”, and her landlords have already told her the rent will increase again in the next year. There have also been issues with unattended children causing trouble in their apartment complex and strangers banging on their door in the middle of the night. Brittany is anxious to live in a more controlled, long-term environment, especially for Dylan. Knowing that owning her own home is her best chance to keep Dylan in a stable, safe home, Brittany has hoped to achieve homeownership for many years. “I’ve always thought that owning a home is the American dream. Something that I can hold, and it’s mine, and honestly, it also seemed further than Neptune . . . but I still wanted to try,” Brittany said.

Brittany heard about Habitat through an email broadcast by Colorado Springs School District 11, then attended one of Habitat’s information sessions, and was very relieved to hear that she met the criteria to apply. Brittany’s mentality has always been “let’s keep moving forward”.

Brittany shared about her determination to make a better life for herself and Dylan, “What’s gotten me through everything are the people who have decided to lift me up and encouraging me to keep moving forward. It’s hope that gets you there. It’s a reminder that it’s all worth it. I want to give it forward too. My twenties have really been so much of clawing for success, clawing with my bare hands. I really want people who have to do that same thing . . .  to have that opportunity to get that help. I’ve been helped so much throughout my life. I want to pay it forward to someone else too. . . . It’s that uphill battle that’s worth it. It’s that drive that I have to not only keep myself moving forward but that sense of community that I also want to keep putting forward.”

Now, as a future homeowner through her partnership with Habitat, Brittany is looking forward to finally having a secure place of refuge for herself and Dylan. She especially looks forward to her and Dylan having a backyard and a private laundry room. Dylan is excited too and hopes he can get a dog and a trampoline. Brittany is relieved and grateful that after all of the hardship and transition she and Dylan have experienced, they will have permanent stability and more peace of mind. “What it’s really about is establishing that this is where I can live for the rest of my life, this is where we can lay our heads, and for a long time we didn’t know where that was going to be. . . . This is my roots and being rooted is what’s going to help us out the most” Brittany said.

Brittany shared her appreciation of the opportunity for affordable homeownership through her partnership with Habitat, all made possible by our generous donors, volunteers, and partner organizations. “It’s amazing to know that there are programs out here that help people achieve this next step of the American dream. It’s hard for anyone to do it, and to do it alone is even harder. I’ve felt really alone a lot, but then I realized that I wasn’t really alone and that there is help out there, you just have to find it, and you have to be willing to put in the work to find it, then you can. Everybody’s who’s putting in the work to build these homes and putting in their own time to do it. I just think it’s incredible. And I hope that I can turn around and help build more houses.”