Homeowner Stories: Carmen

Meet Carmen and her two children. Carmen was accepted to be a Habitat homeowner in January 2019 and has recently broke ground on her new Habitat home.

As a single mother, Carmen has a lot of responsibilities, but her top priority is her children. Carmen works in Loveland, CO, but lives in Kersey, CO which is a 2-hour round-trip commute. Her commute makes it very difficult to spend quality time with her children. To put in a full workday, she leaves when it is dark and comes home when it dark. This is a long day for Carmen and makes it impossible to support her children with their homework and after school activities. Currently, Carmen lives in a mobile home that was bought 10 years for $1,000. Carmen has worked to keep it up and filled it with precious memories, but it has become unsafe and run-down. Carmen dreams of having the time to cook family dinners, enjoy more quality family time to grow together, and support her children.

Her dreams of owning a good home near her work are coming true as she works on becoming a Habitat Homeowner! Carmen was “overwhelmingly shocked” when she was told that she had been selected for the Habitat program. When her home is finished, her commute will be 10 minutes instead of 2 hours. She will be working and living in the same town that her kids attend school. She will be able to cook family dinners, be supportive in after school activities, and provide better physical, emotional and financial support to her children. Many of these things are luxuries to most parents, but these simple things are Carmen’s dream. She is looking forward to living in a great neighborhood, making new friends, and spending quality time with her family. Carmen says,” I would just like to thank everyone involved in this great program; it truly is a big blessing!”

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