Christopher and Krystle's Family's Story...

Christopher and Krystle have been together for 14 years and married for eight and a half years. They have spent much of that time living with Krystle’s mom, then moving around Colorado Springs, and now they live in a section 8 housing 3-bedroom apartment. Christopher is a manager in the dining halls at Fort Carson, where he’s worked for the last 14 years. Krystle is a stay-at-home mother to their two sons, Enrique, 13 years old, and Emilio, 11 years old. Recently, Christopher has experienced reduced hours at work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Krystle has had the challenge of helping their sons navigate remote learning.

Christopher and Krystle have struggled with finding housing on the open market even after searching for many years. One of their biggest concerns has been the crime-ridden areas they’ve had to live in due to housing affordability. Their current apartment is not well-kept – they have had several safety and maintenance issues that remain unresolved. The apartment doesn’t have a yard for their son’s service dog, forcing the family to walk the dog in the unsafe area surrounding their apartment. For the past few years, Christopher and Krystle have had to sacrifice seeing their out-of-state family because of their rent’s high cost. Enrique and Emilio haven’t seen their grandmother in Arizona in over two years. As future Habitat homeowners, Christopher and Krystle are looking forward to the stability and peace of mind a decent, permanent, and affordable home will provide for their family. They are excited to have an affordable mortgage, which, in addition to many other benefits, will give them the financial flexibility to travel to see their loved ones.

Christopher and Krystle found Habitat through promotions they saw on TV and immediately applied to Pikes Peak Habitat’s Homeownership Program. Before finding Habitat, Christopher and Krystle thought becoming homeowners would never be possible. Now, as future homeowners, their hopes of safety, security, and stability for their family are becoming a reality. Christopher already envisions the generational stability their new Habitat home will provide and hopes their home will be a place where “hopefully grandchildren will be able to live there too.” They are looking forward to the transformative impact that affordable homeownership will provide for their family for generations to come.