Deborah moved into her Habitat home in the Black Hills neighborhood 24 years ago. Four years ago she fulfilled a life-long dream and promise to herself: she paid off her mortgage.
Over those 24 years, Deborah raised four children, helped nurture nieces and nephews, recovered from a debilitating stroke, wrote a book, and lent a helping hand to countless neighbors.
She still remembers the day she became a homeowner for the first time. “I have a picture of that moment inside on the wall! I was shouting. I was praising God with my mouth wide open. It was a blessing.”
Deborah’s kids are grown and living independent lives, but they come back to visit and help her often. Her daughter is in college in New Jersey. Deborah is looking forward to remodeling her home to ensure she can age in place, and has plans to convert the basement into an office so she can continue writing books.
Her home has been a haven, a bustling shelter for many children, and a stable place from which to serve her community. She hopes to use its equity to help her kids buy their own homes one day. Her home and her faith make her optimistic about the future. “I hope my children keep God before them, that they always do what’s right, that they’ll seek wisdom and then they’ll go far.”
“My home is a blessing from the Lord,” she says. “Right now I’m just standing on the promises of God and I’m just trusting him like he told me to, and walking in faith.”
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Did you know?
Zero Percent Mortgages: Habitat homebuyers receive a 0% mortgage, which saves homeowners a significant amount of money in interest payments over the life of the loan.
Hand Up, Not a Handout: Families spend 275 hours or more volunteering, working on their own homes and taking educational classes.
Wealth Generation: Homeowners typically improve their credit scores and pay down their outstanding debt by 15% from the time they enter our program to the time they close on their homes. The equity that comes from homeownership adds wealth and stability for generations.
Sustainable revenue from our ReStore operations is the key to our ability to serve more families and further our mission. Last year, we had over 110,000 visitors!