When she comes home, Lidya tells her kids about all the skills she learned that day.
“I think it’s cool that she’s learning all these things. When we get the house we’ll save a lot of money instead of calling people to fix things. Now she can fix things,” says Gabriel.[mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/lidiya_leon_0095.jpg” image_size=”large” desc=”Lidya and her two children Rosalinda and Gabriel”]Lidya and her kids are close and since Lydia started the Habitat homeownership program, they’ve all agreed to work together and help and make sacrifices for the good of the family.
“For my birthday, I wanted a PlayStation but I agreed to wait until we get the house so that we can save money,” says Gabriel.
The family lives in a small two-bedroom apartment. The neighbors drink, there’s drug use and they’re noisy. It’s hard for Lidya to get the rest she desperately needs. Their neighbors have robbed their apartment before and Lidya says it took the police two days to come to the apartment to file a report.
There are rats and cockroaches and there’s no space for Gabriel and Rosalynda to play outside. There aren’t many other kids in the neighborhood, either.
Rosalynda describes their current neighborhood as ‘boring and lonely.’
A house of her own would be more secure for all three of them, says Lidya. It’ll be a home for her kids to own day own. She is proud to be investing in their future. A place where her family can grow.[mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/lidya_leon_img_0039.jpg” image_size=”large” desc=”Lidya saved for a down payment, took financial classes and completed over 250 hours of sweat equity alongside volunteers”]Gabriel says that home is “a place where I can feel safe and where I won’t be harmed.” Rosalynda defines it as “a place where I can be myself, I can play and use my imagination.”
Home means everything to Lidya. Owning one has been the goal for her for as long as she can remember. She says that her heart skips a beat just thinking about it.[mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/lydia_leon_img_8837.jpg” image_size=”large” desc=”Lidya helped build her house and her neighbors homes alongside Habitat volunteers”][mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/lidiyaleon_0094.jpg” image_size=”large” desc=”Home means everything to Lidya”][mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/tagline_ssss.png” image_size=”full”]