Having a Place to Call Home

Being an adult means being independent, according to Jennifer Thomas. But, as a single mother working part time and going to college full time, she understands that sometimes she has to ask for help. When she learned she could buy her own home through Habitat, she jumped at the opportunity.

“Habitat is a true blessing,” Thomas says. And even though her house has just started being built, she excitedly adds, “I’m ready to move into my brand new house!”

Thomas and her 19-month-old twin daughters have been “bouncing around,” living in unaffordable apartments or with relatives. She says “it’s a hard way to live. It’s hard to raise kids when you don’t have a foundation, a real home.”

While she is waiting to start building her own home, Thomas has started her “sweat equity” helping to build other area Habitat homes. She says she has been impressed with how friendly the volunteers are. “They’re all so happy to be there,” she says. “I mean, these are strangers who volunteer their free time to help people they don’t know. It’s overwhelming.”

Thomas appreciates the hand-up from Habitat. “We’re going to have a roof over our heads at a note I can afford.” She will graduate next year with a B.A. in general studies from Southeastern Louisiana University and says that having a Habitat home will help her save money so she can go back to school in a few years to earn a degree in nursing.

Thomas says the best part of being a partner with Habitat is that she “won’t have to depend on anybody else” for a place to live. “I can’t wait to have a place to call home … in a safe neighborhood for my girls,” Thomas adds.

(And congratulations to Jennifer for recent marriage!)