Healthy At Home Together

Here at Habitat Chicago, we are committed to keeping our community united during these unprecedented times. Over the next few weeks, we will provide you with ideas and opportunities to help you, your families, and your community stay safe and healthy at home.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Giving Tuesday Now campaign and to our Board of Directors Chair who offered to match our donations. This day of generosity, unity, and giving was a great success thanks to the immense support of our Habitat Chicago community. Because of you, we can continue building strong futures for residents across Chicago and ensure the life-changing benefits homeownership offers.  

Today, we're introducing you to future Habitat Chicago homeowners and their definitions of "home". Enjoy, and be well.

What Home Means to Me

In light of this pandemic, the recommendation to “stay safe, stay healthy, stay home” takes on a whole new meaning when safe, affordable housing is not a reality for so many fellow Chicagoans. For current Habitat Chicago homeowners, a decent and affordable place to live no longer is a worry. While we’ve all been staying safe at home, we can all reflect on what a roof over our heads truly provides. Learn what home means for future Habitat Chicago homeowners Myeasha, Nakeisha, and Donshay, and why they are eager to begin their journeys to Affordable Homeownership.  

Myeasha

For Myeasha, mother of two, home means freedom and hope for her family’s future. It means getting away from the unpredictability of renting. A home, instead, provides the possibility of creating generational wealth and stability for her children. They will be able to build a space and future all their own. Home truly is ultimately putting her family first – “By taking this step, I will be an even better mom to my boys. This is something for all of us.”

Nakeisha

To Nakeisha, home means security for her family’s health and well-being, now and in the future. In the face of the pandemic, buying her own home is a big accomplishment – “This is something I have wanted for a long time. My kids will have a place to come back to, and I can watch my grandkids grow up in our home.” While an affordable home now means one less worry on her family’s safety, “this home is something I can leave behind as my legacy for my kids and grandkids” and know they are secure.

Donshay

With four tenacious kids to keep safe and healthy, Donshay is looking forward to providing a home of their own at the end of the program. Her priority is maintaining a secure and stable place that allows her children to continue growing, learning, and thriving in spite of all the obstacles the pandemic presents. And looking into the future, home can provide even more for her family. “This house will be something to leave to my kids, something to create generational wealth and allow them to thrive.”

Keep on Building 

A crisis like COVID-19 reminds us all how important it is to have a safe and stable home to shelter in, yet being healthy and safe at home is not a possibility for many of our Chicago neighbors. We know these are uncertain times for everyone, and Habitat Chicago is no exception. If you can, please consider making a donation to the Habitat Chicago COVID-19 Resiliency Fund. With your support, more Chicago families will have the opportunity to feel safe and healthy at home.