On the night of March 31, Donnah, her husband Alvin, and their daughter Chloe were wide awake. Laying in their sleeping bags on an empty living room floor, the three gazed around, in awe of what was now their home. Being too excited to sleep, they sat up and spent the night discussing their future. For the first time in their lives, they owned a home and couldn’t wait to make it their very own.
Just a few months earlier, Donnah and Alvin were renting an apartment. They were working hard to purchase a home but found roadblocks at every turn. Securing a down payment seemed impossible, and options like rent-to-own were equally inaccessible. Their dream of homeownership slipped further and further away with each setback, leaving Donnah feeling increasingly disheartened. When a friend who had recently bought a home remarked, “You should really get your own house, it’s about time,” Donnah felt a wave of frustration over their lack of progress in achieving homeownership.
It wasn’t until Donnah saw a Habitat ad on Facebook that she thought owning a home might be a possibility. With her friend’s words ringing in her ear, she visited Habitat’s website, noting the benefit of no down payment. Still skeptical, she recalled that a co-worker had become a homeowner through Habitat and asked her for advice. Encouraged by the positive experience, Donnah, Alvin, and Chloe, spent the evening applying to be homeowners.
A short while later, Donnah received a call from Habitat; her family was approved and would soon be homeowners! At work and unable to contain her excitement, Donnah jumped from her chair, cheered, and began to cry. Her concerned co-workers quickly realized these were tears of joy and congratulated her. The news couldn’t have come at a better time, as Chloe was about to undergo heart surgery, and the extra space in their Habitat home would provide the perfect environment for her recovery. “It’s like everything fell into place at the right time,” said Donnah.
In their home, the family has more room to live comfortably, no longer needing to squeeze past each other to enter the kitchen. Their new neighborhood is safe and quiet, and they sleep soundly at night. Alvin takes pride in maintaining the garden and front yard, while Donnah enjoys decorating the living room. Chloe is thrilled to have her own room and has remarked that she can now sleep well without her dad snoring by her ears. Even their cat, Franko, is thriving in the new environment.
Donnah is grateful to Habitat for empowering her to become a homeowner, and she is eager to make lasting memories in their new home. She encourages anyone who is considering Habitat homeowner to apply as soon as they can. Despite that you might think, she says, it isn’t too good to be true!
