Homeless at age 14, future Pikes Peak Habitat homeowner Amanda knows what it’s like to have no home for the holidays. She stopped attending school after ninth grade because she didn’t even have clothes to wear to classes. Yet she now has a steady career, and has regained custody of her three children, who were placed in foster care following a dangerous incident that threatened Amanda as well.

Even now, Amanda still has safety concerns with her current living situation. “I don’t know my neighbors. If something was to happen, would they care that I’m screaming? Because in a neighborhood where you hear gunshots and you hear fighting all the time and you see break-ins, people usually mind their own business.”

Amanda looks forward to the memories she and her children will create in their new home. “We cook a lot together. We have game nights,” she says. “I have a lot of board games. I’m old-school with Uno and Yahtzee and checkers and cards and dominoes. The kids like to play their game system.” She adds, “I just can’t wait to have a dining table that fits everyone, so we can sit down.”

Will you make a gift today and bring strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter to families like Amanda’s?