family and current housing Tamela Wahl is looking forward to the day she will own her own home. For the past fourteen years, Tamela and her sons have lived in a Stark Metropolitan housing Authority townhouse. Over the years, the house has developed multiple problems, some of which persist and have not been fixed. None of the windows lock properly, several have cracked glass, and the back door doesn’t seal tightly. There are chips in the tile in the kitchen and rotten floorboards, water stains, and holes throughout because of pipes that broke in the neighbor’s unit. There is no heat or A/C to Tamela’s room. The neighborhood floods easily and water often stands between units, and the sewer has backed up into her first floor several times. In spite of all this, Tamela’s main reason for applying is safety concerns. Her home has been broken into eight times over the past fourteen years. Tamela and her sons were home during one break-in when an intoxicated neighbor entered, punched a hole in the wall, threatened Tamela and her sons with a knife, and stole valuables. Because of the neighborhood and conditions of the home, Tamela is losing residential parenting status to her ex-husband until she can show that she has more stable, safe housing. It is Tamela’s hope that purchasing a home with the help of Habitat for humanity will provide the stability needed to do just that. Tamela’s sons, Chaise, Maleik, and Brevonta, are all athletic, hardworking, outdoorsman. She also has an adult son, Javon. Together, the family enjoys attending church, hunting, fishing, cookouts, and spending time with each other.
a bright future
During her time in the Habitat program, Tamela has worked hard to pursue her dream of homeownership by investing numerous hours of sweat equity on worksites and at ReStore. She will also complete the ten week House2Home education classes to prepare for the responsibility of owning a home. As an added joy, Tamela is able to bring her sons with her to worksites and ReStore so they can accomplish their goal of homeownership as a family. Tamela stays busy between completing the Habitat program, raising her boys, and working as a store manager to provide financially for her family. But she considers it all worthwhile. “Building our home from start to finish, meeting new people, and learning and growing together as a family makes it all worth it,” Tamela said. “We will have not just a house, but ‘our home’ filled with peace and security that we worked together to achieve.
