Read an incredible letter from Jody Lamb, Habitat Homeowner
To my fellow Albertans at this important time of year –
I looked on in complete horror. The simple, safe life I had worked so hard to build for my son, Chance, and I was gone. The fire took everything.
Just a little earlier, a neighbour was pounding on our door, warning us the roof of our townhouse complex was burning. And now, I was standing in shock, hugging my son.
Our townhouse was in cooperative housing, with a wonderful community of people who looked out for each other. Before we moved there, Chance and I moved five different times… always restarting from scratch.
For a while, we lived in hotels. Then my insurance money started to run out and I really didn’t know what we were going to do.
Thankfully, a friend of a friend had an empty basement suite. She was getting older and needed help at home. So in exchange for rent we could afford, I became a part-time caregiver. It wasn’t easy to balance with my regular shift work as a psychiatric nurse, but I made it work.
The time came when she needed more care. She began to look into nursing homes, and I knew I needed to find the next home for Chance and I.
You might not realize it, but as a supporter of Habitat for Humanity Edmonton, you helped us find much more than our next place to live.
I’d like to tell you more about how you help families right here in Edmonton. While I share our story, will you consider making a special holiday donation to Habitat for Humanity?
“With the cost of housing so high, good homes are even more out of reach for many of us.”
No matter how you give, you’ll help another family just like ours to find the peace and security that comes from finally having a place to call home.
Take it from me, it’s an incredible feeling to have the sense of hope and security that comes with having a stable home.
Chance and I now have our first real home!
You see, I grew up in a small town in Alberta in a family with a lot of challenges. When Chance was born, I knew I needed to set out on my own to raise him in a healthy environment.
As a single mom, I wake up each day, determined to make a life that little bit better for my son than it was the day before. So, it was crushing to think we faced yet another moment of having nowhere to go.
That’s when I noticed a post on Facebook about Habitat for Humanity. It brought back a conversation with my friend from many years before. She was also a single mom. She mentioned Habitat for Humanity and suggested I look into it.
At the time, for some reason I didn’t think someone like me could qualify for one of their mortgages, or one of those homes.
But the Facebook post kept coming up. So, I gathered my courage and applied. My application was 35 pages long, with lots of additional financial information and personal references. When I sent it in, I really expected the answer would be “No.”
But it wasn’t. The call came, telling me that Chance and I were going to have our first real home. And not only that – we were going to own it, too.
As I look back, I realize that for most of my life I mistakenly bought into a lot of outdated beliefs. I truly believed that a woman had to have a husband to get a mortgage.
When the day came that I received that phone call from the folks at Habitat saying “Yes, you are going to be a homeowner!” all those old beliefs and insecurities vanished in a second.
Finally, after years and years of hard work and tough challenges, I began to believe in the good of humanity again.
“Lots of single mothers never receive child support. We earn just a little too much for government assistance – but not enough to get by.”
So if you were to ask me “What does home mean to you?” here is my answer after all those years of struggle and insecurity… Home means peace. Calm. Safety.
It means knowing we are coming home to a house with our belongings. And where we can just be quiet, and talk, and cook, and enjoy life with our two cats, Luffy and Thorin.
My friend, that’s what you are doing for people when you support Habitat for Humanity. You are giving them four walls and a roof over their heads. But you’re helping them find so much more.
Your gift says “I believe in you. You’ve got this – and we’re here for you.”
Today, we’re planning the holidays ahead. It makes me think of how Christmas has been different since we’ve moved into our own house.
Before that, I had only ever had a fake Christmas tree. But the first Christmas we were here, I bought a real tree for the first time and somehow brought it home in the trunk of my car.
It was a fun adventure, which has now become one of our favourite traditions.
Just a simple Christmas tree.
Earlier this year, Chance and I had an adventure on the LRT. It’s nice to have a station that’s not too far from our home.
And this year, we’ll build some new traditions.
One of Chance’s cousins and a number of his old friends have moved into the city to attend university. They’ve been getting settled into school over the last few months, and I love to invite them over because I know it is hard for them to be away from home.
So we’ll have a family dinner with them – and maybe even go to some holiday events with them, too. It means a lot to have a home where others feel welcome. For the first time, we’re not just living somewhere… We’re building something.
I hope you have wonderful holiday plans too. And I hope that during this season of giving and generosity, you might be able to include Habitat for Humanity in your celebrations.
“Habitat for Humanity Edmonton gives us the only chance of home ownership we would likely ever have.”
No matter what’s best for you, a gift of any kind means so much. And I know it really helps families with single moms like me. With the cost of housing so high, good homes are even more out of reach for many of us.
Like me, lots of single mothers have never received child support. And we earn just a little too much for government assistance – but not enough to get by in this economy. It really is like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Habitat for Humanity Edmonton fills that gap. It gives us the only chance of home ownership we would likely ever have. Which means we can work hard and build something for our children’s future.
A lot of times at Christmas, people talk about hope. Hope and faith.
That’s what this home has done for me. Given me renewal. And confidence. And faith that there is good in the world.
Thank you for being such a big part of all that is good.
With sincere appreciation,
Habitat homeowner and volunteer
P.S. Gratitude is so important to me, and it’s something I teach my son. I’m so thankful for the support every donor to Habitat for Humanity has given. We will never forget what it was like to have friends like you in our corner when we needed it most. Together, let’s support the next family who needs us – and who needs a place to call home. Thank you again.
