Jessica is the busy mother of four children – daughters ages fifteen and three, and sons ages twelve and seven. Her oldest daughter plays basketball and runs track; her oldest son plays football, and her younger son loves karate. They all love to listen to music and have movie nights together. Jessica is devoted to her kids and wants to spend every moment she can with them. The desire to give her children a better life continues to be Jessica’s motivation. She wants to give them the stability of a place they can really call home.
Jessica is the transportation manager for Walt’s Drive-A-Way, where she has worked for over twelve years. Her boss has been extremely supportive, adjusting her hours and workload so she can complete her required 300 hours of sweat equity. She happened to be in his office when she found out that she had been accepted into the Habitat for Humanity homeownership program, and he was as excited as she was to hear the news!
Jessica has been in a cycle of renting apartments and moving since she was seventeen; one of the places she lived had serious mold issues. The family now lives in an apartment that is too small for them.
Jessica has known about the Habitat homeownership program for a while. She first applied in 2012 and was denied. She didn’t try again until last year when her sister, who had recently become a Habitat homeowner, encouraged her to re-apply. Jessica was more optimistic about applying the second time, but she was still nervous. She was so excited and relieved to hear that she had been accepted into the program this time.
Even though her life is very full and sometimes very chaotic – with four active children, a full-time job, and homeownership courses – partnering with Habitat has been worth it. She is looking forward to her kids having a yard and a place to call home. It hurt to hear the word “No” back in 2012, but that word does not have to be the end. She wants other future homeowners to know, “Although this is hard work, it is do-able.”
She is very grateful to her sponsor and to all the volunteers involved. In fact, she wants to become part of the Core Crew once her Habitat journey is over. She has learned so much from her time on the construction site and from the required classes. She says, “I love that I am learning things that I can carry with me.”
“Saying thank you just isn’t enough. They [everyone involved] are so appreciated, and I will never forget them. If it wasn’t for Habitat, I would never own a home.” Jessica hopes that people will understand that this isn’t a free house; after closing, she will be making monthly mortgage payments. “It’s hard work, but it is all worth it.”