Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

Habitat homeowner Della Svenningsen won’t soon forget the days in the early 1990’s when she was forced out of her home in Minneapolis’ Sumner Field Housing Projects.  After being relocated by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to areas like Eden Prairie and St. Paul she dreamt of a day when she could once again live in Minneapolis.

Currently Della lives with her four children Alicia, 17, Qwmari, 12, Amarya, 6, and Almond, 1, in the mixed-income housing development Heritage Park, near north Minneapolis.  Living in this 145-acre housing community is a homecoming of sorts for Della since the development is built on the site of the projects where she used to live. Della loves living in a mixed income setting because she is surrounded by her family and the diversity Minneapolis is known for.

“I feel blessed to be living around people with different ethnic backgrounds,” she said.  “If you go down the block you have Asian, Somali, Ethiopian, Hmong families.”

Along the way to Heritage Park, Della has had to persevere through some hard times: dealing with the death of her daughter at the age of four months, for example, or witnessing her parents’ marriage fall apart.  Through it all Della is grateful to have the support of her large extended family.

 “I can’t even imagine going through all the things I’ve been through in my life on my own,” she said.  “It’s nice knowing no matter how tough times get that I have my family to lean on.”

Living in Heritage Park allows Della and her children the opportunity to be around family members on a consistent basis.  Della’s sister’s Tracie and Roni along with their children live across the street and alley.  Her mother and other family live near by.  Della enjoys spending the majority of her free time at family gatherings large or small.  The most recent gathering was a Halloween party involving all the children in the family.

Della’s family was also crucial in helping put in the 300 sweat equity hours they needed to complete before becoming Habitat homeowners.  Della’s oldest daughter Alicia put in 100 of those hours.  Alicia really enjoyed learning about what it takes to build a house and is thinking about going to college for a construction related degree.

“This whole thing couldn’t have happened without the work of my daughter Alicia,” Della said.  “When I was at home taking care of the children she was out in the cold weather with the volunteers building the house we now live in.”

Miranda Wilson who serves as a home visit volunteer has seen directly how important family really is to Della.  “Each time I’ve had the opportunity to visit with Della I’m amazed at how in control she is of her surroundings,” she said.  “For a woman who has gone through an awful lot it’s nice to see that she has a place to call home.”