Ida, Alex, and Lucia's Family Story
For Ida, Alex, and their family, Hurricane Maria’s 2017 rampage through Puerto Rico wasn’t a news story they could escape by changing the channel – it was an experience they survived. They watched as the storm transformed their street into a river, and when the drains failed, water quickly flooded the first story of their home all the way to the eaves. They fled to the second floor with Ida’s aunt Lucia, who lives with them, and their then-6-year-old daughter, Sofia, who remembers that the wind was so strong she could barely stand on her own.
After the storm, they lived in one room, along with Ida’s parents and the family dog. They had no power for two months. Alex recalls waiting for 20 hours to fill his car with gas, and the family had to stand in line for hours to get clean drinking water. “We lost everything,” says Ida.
Several months after the storm, they moved to Colorado Springs, which they had first visited in 2014 to see Ida’s brother, who was stationed at a nearby military base. They live in an apartment that Ida says is spacious enough for the family but in an unsafe area where they’ve experienced several thefts. And although Alex works full-time in construction, they struggle with the rising cost of rent.
When they learned they’d been accepted to the Pikes Peak Habitat homeownership program, Ida says, “I started screaming, crying, called my husband, called everyone!” They can’t wait to get started building their new home. And Sofia, who had to leave her beloved dog with her abuela (grandma) in Puerto Rico, can finally get the puppy she’s wanted for years.
"I’m very excited, not just for the puppy, but it’s somewhere that we can be safe," says Sofia. "And we have a good backyard and it’s something better than we had before."
Their home is the Maverik – Adventure’s First Stop Build (previously the Kum & Go Sponsored Build). In 2023, Maverik acquired Kum & Go and together, the two brands fuel customers’ adventures in over 800 locations across 20 states from the Midwest to the West Coast. Maverik is currently expanding its exciting rebrand of Kum & Go stores throughout Colorado and is proud to support Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity and the many families it partners with in El Paso County.
