Everyone deserves an opportunity to build a better future.
Last holiday season, Shawntale’s reasons to move were many: an indifferent landlord, rising rent, and too little space for an active toddler. But most of all, she wanted to own her home so she could give her son a more stable future. In Asheville’s escalating housing market, her dreams of finding homeownership through conventional methods were out of reach. So she applied and was accepted into Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership program.
Morning after early morning, she finished a night shift as a Certified Nursing Assistant and then worked side-by-side with Habitat volunteers to build her home and the homes of her neighbors—once working 28 hours straight!
But before her Habitat house in Shiloh was finished, and with little notice, her landlord sold the apartment she was renting. With nowhere to live, she and her son crowded in with family until the house was complete, knowing this would be the last time their lives would hang on the whims of a landlord.
Now Shawntale is a proud homeowner, paying an affordable mortgage. She found the stability she longed for with the support of many Asheville Area Habitat donors and volunteers.
Shawntale looks forward to raising her son in the neighborhood where she grew up and giving back to Asheville’s historic Shiloh community through its active neighborhood association.
With your gift this holiday season, you can help 14 more families build stable homes in Shiloh and make a lasting investment in the neighborhood’s vitality.
