Maria’s journey to homeownership was long, exhausting, and for the most part, felt incredibly unlikely to succeed. Time and again she applied for housing, dismayed to see her application was always one of thousands. But she never gave up applying.
Finally, in 2021, Maria was accepted into our Home Purchase Program. It was astonishing news to receive while living in a window-less basement apartment with her son throughout the pandemic. “We had a lot of issues with flooding and no windows. Since there’s no light, it kind of plays tricks on your mood because you’re secluded in there most of the time you’re home.” Thankfully, this was no trick, and Maria closed on her new home in Brooklyn in mid-2022.
“In the beginning you still feel a little shocked or detached from it because you’re doing this process of making it your nest. Now it feels like home. We love it here. It’s fantastic.” She contemplates how partnering with Habitat changed the trajectory of her family, “I don’t know how I would have done it without this opportunity. It made a difference for my son and me. And I know it’s going to make a difference in my son’s future.”
In fact, Maria has already witnessed the impact of stable housing on her son’s mental and emotional
health. “We moved so many times – every couple of years since he was four. It never felt like a safe place until now. It was a struggle for him for many years because of his separation anxiety. Before we moved (here) he was struggling. But when we moved here, we started calming down and finding our place in the world.” Maria says the knowledge that “this is ours, this is our home, and this is where we belong,” has dissipated any anxiety about future displacement.
“I have enjoyed the peace of mind that this belongs to my son and me. Knowing that if something happens to me, this is my son’s. He will never have to worry about that. You can’t put a price on that. I see the changes of having that peace of mind for him as well, it’s huge. That is the most enjoyable thing.”
For years, Maria worried about how to adequately provide for her son in a city that’s so expensive. That worry has finally been alleviated, having “(made) sure that he has that one advantage – possibility. Having the chance to give him that is huge. I get so emotional looking out the window, seeing the trees and the sun…When you’re finally out of survival mode, you get to start enjoying the little things and those moments.”
