Cameron, the dedicated mother of two small boys (ages one and three), is a creative, determined person. She has been a Member Service Representative at a credit union for almost two years and loves her job because she gets to meet so many people. In her free time, she enjoys painting, taking her boys to the park, and doing crafts with them. They also enjoy watching movies together.
Currently, Cameron and her boys live in a two-bedroom apartment. To create more space for each of the boys, she used her creativity to convert a large closet into a nursery for the youngest. She dreams of having a yard for the boys to play in. However, she mostly wants to give her family a sense of permanency and a place of their own. “To be able to give my boys a sense of stability and security means the world to me. They will grow up in a house that they know is theirs.” Cameron is looking forward to a long stay in her Habitat house and plans to have her boys put their handprints and footprints in the sidewalk when the concrete is poured.
Cameron knew about the Habitat program as early as high school, but she didn’t really know the details until a friend of hers went through the program. She was turned down on her first application but learned from that experience and applied again. When she found out that she had been accepted into the program, she burst into tears. “I think I let the phone ring once…I was waiting on that call.”
Cameron has embraced every part of the Habitat program and is documenting her experiences to share with the boys one day. She has loved doing community engagement hours at the soup kitchen, where she has found joy in helping people and in hearing their stories. On her first day at the construction site, she was terrified because she felt like she didn’t know what she was doing, but that feeling quickly went away. “Everyone on the Core Crew made me feel welcome and at ease.”
Having other future homeowners on the journey with her has greatly helped her when things get difficult. As she says, “I have my Habitat family to help me. You don’t have to explain what you are going through because they understand.” Cameron is truly grateful for the volunteers, her sponsor, and everyone at Habitat who is making this dream possible for her and her family. “They have changed my life.” Once her time in the program is over, Cameron wants to go back to school and get the necessary certifications so she can become a budget partner for other future Habitat homeowners as a way to give back and pay it forward.