Breanna Wilson and her sons live in a duplex in a public housing neighborhood where drug activity, excessive alcohol use, and noise from gunshots and arguments are common. She worries her boys, Ja’den (8) and K’veeair (6), are in danger when they play outside. Inside the duplex, a slow-draining bathtub has led to black mold. And with two growing boys and only two bedrooms, the space is overcrowded. Before public housing, Breanna and her sons lived with her mom, who died unexpectedly several years ago. When Breanna’s mom was alive, she always encouraged Breanna to consider Habitat for Humanity, instead of paying high rent to live in public housing. Breanna was accepted into the Habitat program in 2017, but the amount of work felt overwhelming to her at the time, and she dropped out. After her mom passed away, Breanna’s rent at her public housing facility kept going up as her income rose. She worked hard at her job at a local nursing home to make sure she could take care of her boys financially and afford to do things together as a family, and she felt like the money she earned from all the hours she was working should be able to provide something better than a crowded, unsafe duplex. She was ready to try Habitat again.
A Bright Future
Since Breanna started her Habitat partnership, she has finished all the classes she needs to complete the program. She’s also learned how use a hammer and built her first wall in the Habitat construction warehouse – her favorite part of the experience so far. Breanna already has selected the lot where she will build her home, and she drives by it regularly. When she pictures her completed home, she sees space where her boys can play basketball and a garden where she can grow peas. She hopes her sons appreciate how far the family has come and see Habitat as a stepping-stone for them. Breanna also hopes they recognize how hard she has worked to get to this point. “This is my future, and it’s so bright,” Breanna said. “And I’m so happy.”She said she can’t wait until the first time she opens the door to the home she built. “It’s going to be emotional, I’m going to cry, and I’m going be amazed that this is something that I did for my family with my own two hands,” she said.