The Swogger Family
Family and Current Housing
MyQuella and her son, Ogundana, currently live in an apartment complex in Massillon. They moved there after living in a private rental that became financially unsustainable. When the landlord decided to sell the property, the family was forced to search for new housing and ultimately relocated to their current apartment. While the rent is lower than at their previous residence, it still exceeds thirty percent of MyQuella’s gross monthly income.
More concerning, the apartment has several maintenance and safety concerns, including inoperable windows that cause air leaks, a hole in the ceiling from upstairs plumbing issues, sloping floors, sagging ceilings, and nonfunctioning bedroom lights. As rent continues to rise each year, MyQuella realized the situation was unsustainable and applied to the Habitat for Humanity homeownership program in pursuit of stability and long-term affordability.
Since joining the Habitat program, MyQuella has completed her sweat-equity hours at ReStore, in the Habitat workshop, and on Habitat construction sites, and finished homebuyer education classes in spring 2025, gaining essential budgeting, financial planning, and home maintenance skills.
A Bright Future
MyQuella works as a Student Success Advisor at Walden University and finds deep fulfillment in helping students achieve their educational goals. When speaking about her son, Ogundana, she shares that he loves all things dinosaurs, monster trucks, Legos, and Matchbox cars. He especially enjoys bedtime stories, with Llama Llama Red Pajama being a favorite. Together, they enjoy cooking meals, going to the park, and building Lego sets.
The family looks forward to the stability of living in one place—one home—without the constant fear of having to move. MyQuella has spent years working longer hours simply to keep up with rising rent, often at the expense of time with her son. She believes that homeownership will provide stability not only in the physical structure of their home, but also in long-term affordability. MyQuella believes that owning her own home will give her the freedom to truly make it a family home, while allowing her to save and plan for Ogundana’s future.
The Hernandez Family
Family and Current Housing
Joshua and Karla live in Canton in a privately rented home. Both grew up in Puerto Rico and moved to Ohio to be closer to Karla’s family as their own family grew. While they are grateful for housing, their current rental presents significant challenges for a young family.
The home has noticeable air leaks that cause severe draftiness during the winter months. There are signs of water damage throughout the house, and at times the pipes freeze and become clogged, on some occasions forcing the family to rely on a portable toilet. Several light switches and outlets throughout the home are inoperable, and one room has no functioning outlets or switches at all.
The most difficult challenge is the lack of accessibility for their son, Ilai. Ilai was diagnosed with spina bifida and wears leg braces. Stairs are incredibly challenging for him, and Joshua and Karla currently must carry him up and down, a task that becomes more difficult as he grows. As people of faith, Joshua and Karla have been praying for an open door to meet their housing needs, an answer that led them to Habitat for Humanity East Central Ohio.
Joshua and Karla have worked diligently in the Habitat program, often dividing sweat-equity assignments to manage childcare needs. Karla, whose primary language is Spanish, uses a translation earpiece to fully participate alongside other partner families and volunteers. Together, they have completed hours at ReStore and on construction sites and graduated from the House2Home homebuyer education program in fall 2025, gaining skills in finances, home maintenance, lawn care, and personal development.
A Bright Future
Joshua has worked for CSafe, LLC as a Customer Support Specialist for the past four years and has been with the company for six years total. Karla stays home caring for their four children, whom they describe as their whole life and purpose. Twins Keo and Mia are both incredibly loving. Ilai, despite his spina bifida, is active, determined, and full of energy. Uri, the youngest, is a sweet baby who will soon be a toddler. The family is very close and cherishes the time they spend together. Joshua and Karla are looking forward to a home that will provide relief, accessibility, mental and emotional peace, tranquility, and security, for themselves and for their children.
