Their Story...

Lisa is mother to nine children and grandmother to six. In 2005, Lisa’s youngest son died, sadly leading to a violent divorce, and for the past 14 years she has been a single mother. It’s been a rough journey for all of them with frequent moves every two or three years. Lisa has had to endure the stress of uprooting her family several times, knowing that the next move won’t be permanent either. Making matters worse is that they have never lived near family that could offer them support. Instead, they rely on each other, helping one another the best that they can, but in the meantime they don’t have the chance to “put down roots.”

Lisa works three jobs to keep her family afloat. Three jobs. This is what Lisa has to do to afford a 3-bedroom, one-bath home for her children. The house is old, the floors are rotting through, mold damage is evident, and mice are a constant pest. Even though the location is where the family can enjoy the outdoors and nature, Lisa has grown tired of investing time and money into a home that she cannot keep. And buying a house on the open market is not financially feasible for her family.

Thankfully, as a future Habitat homeowner, Lisa can look forward to a life free from the stress of constantly seeking an affordable place to live every few years.  She will soon have “the peace of stability [where she] can create a space [that] all my family can grow in.”  It will be her house to decorate as she pleases, a yard to landscape where she can build a greenhouse, and a home where her family can “grow roots.”