Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity

A citation from the City of Minneapolis requiring work on Mollie Mosman’s property could have forced the single mother to lose her home.

“Thankfully, I had already applied to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s A Brush With Kindness (ABWK) Program and was accepted,” said Mosman, age 29.

Last summer Minneapolis city inspectors surveyed Mosman’s North Minneapolis neighborhood and issued several citations for things ranging from peeling paint to overgrown gardens.

“The deadline to do the work was so short that many of my neighbors weren’t able to meet it due to budget constraints,” said Mosman.  If the repairs weren’t completed in time, city officials sent their own contractors out to finish the work and assessed the homeowners’ property taxes, which in turn impacted their housing costs.

Five years ago, Mosman and her husband purchased the North Minneapolis home.  As with most first time homes, the house was a definite “fix-upper.”  The couple put substantial work into the home.  “We learned a lot while working on the home- like what to look for before you buy the home,” said Mosman.

Regardless of the hard work, the couple loved their home and the quiet, working class neighborhood.  It was the perfect place to start a family.  “I always thought that kids and houses go together,” she said.

A year later, Grey was born, and Mosman left a successful consulting business as a bookkeeper and grant writer to be a stay at home mom. “I wanted to spend as much time with my son as possible.”

Over time, things didn’t work out for the couple, and they decided to separate.  Mosman stayed in the home with her son.  “Grey is very attached to that house.  It’s the only home he has ever known.  I wanted to give him that stability despite what was happening,” she said.

At the time Mosman received the citation, she was unemployed and going through a divorce.  “It was a tough spot to be in.  I didn’t have money for the repairs, and had very little time to complete them.  If I had not gotten the help from Habitat, my son and I may not be living in that home today,” said Mosman. 

Through ABWK, Mosman had her garage repainted, a rotting deck replaced and railing added to her stoop to bring the home up to code.  “Working with the volunteers was really a great experience.  Everyone we met, the whole team, was really great.  They were very helpful and caring.  It wasn’t just about the house.  They really made an effort to get to know us,” Mosman said. 

“And man do they ever work hard!  It’s amazing to see how much work that gets done in one day,” she added.

“Mollie was very involved herself during the whole project,” said Jason Powell, ABWK project supervisor. “It’s easier to accomplish a lot when working with homeowners that are flexible, engaged and hardworking themselves.  It makes the whole experience better for everyone.”

Because of the help she received from ABWK, Mosman was able to redirect her energies into finding employment.  “Getting this help freed up time for me to focus on starting up my consulting business,” she said.

Her next project is finding a school for her 4-year-old son to start kindergarten next year.  “It’s been a relief to know I have a house for my son to grow up in. I’m just so grateful that this program helped me keep my home.”