We feel that each partner family has their own unique story to tell. Please take a look at some of the stories to see the impact our work has on the families we serve.
Kenisha’s Big Day
December 5, 2012
Dozens of families sweat and save to buy a Twin Cities Habitat home each year. For every one of them the closing day is something special. Here is how Kenisha felt on that day. You can also watch a TV news story about Kenisha’s family. Please give today to support the World of Hope campaign and ... (more)
Petties buy Habitat home specially designed for a special daughter
December 4, 2012
Kenisha Petties’ daughter Khalilah was born with an extremely rare form of spina bifida. Walking is very challenging for her. The family was renting a townhome filled with stairs that posed a constant danger to Khalilah. In November, after two years of hard work and smart budgeting, the family closed on a home in Fridley ... (more)
Home Repair Program adds glow to 100 year-old home
November 13, 2012
Longtime Minneapolis residents Terry and Beverly Shingledecker recently found themselves caught in a predicament many homeowners come to dread: the need for immediate, extensive home repair. The need became increasingly apparent even as the possibility of seeking financial help grew more and more slim. Finally, the Shingledeckers happened to notice an advertisement in their community ... (more)
The Nigere family
October 9, 2012
By the time their home in North Minneapolis is ready, Kitessa and Ebise’s family of three will become four. Kitessa and Ebise, both from Ethiopia, are expecting a second child at the end of July. For this young and growing family, a home of their own will be a welcome change. At first, the offer to ... (more)
The Kinchelow family
October 9, 2012
Ya Landa Kinchelow will never forget the day she got the call. Picking up the phone at work recently, she received the news that her family was chosen to be one of 26 Habitat partner families participating in the 2010 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in the Twin Cities. Upon learning of her acceptance into ... (more)
Foreclosure Prevention Salvages American Dream
October 2, 2012
Joyce Johnson was living the American Dream. Married with three children and another child on the way, Joyce had a great job and was the proud homeowner of a beautiful early 1900′s South Minneapolis home. In the Spring of 2006, everything changed. Johnson’s high-risk pregnancy put her on bed rest and on early maternity leave from ... (more)
Habitat home brings hope to Woodbury family
September 28, 2012
Nestled among sprawling fields and greenspace, flower gardens and trails, Bailey’s Arbor housing development in Woodbury is the picture of tranquility. Mop in hand, Jackie Faser is cleaning out the last evidence of construction dust in her garage. A stack of boxes sit on the front stoop, awaiting their final destination. Jackie takes a break, ... (more)
Volunteers, Habitat program restore a beloved family home
September 28, 2012
Longtime Saint Paul residents Larry and Beverly Halcomb recently found themselves caught in a predicament many homeowners come to dread: the need for immediate, extensive home repair. The need became more and more apparent even as the possibility of seeking financial help grew more and more slim, until the Halcombs happened to notice an advertisement ... (more)
Long journey ends in safe home for Habitat family
September 28, 2012
Seeking economic prosperity Paula and her daughters Anna, Juana and Gloria immigrated to California from Mexico in 1988. Due to a lack of education the only job Paula could find was picking grapes in a field six days a week. While she was hard at work her eldest daughter Gloria began to familiarize herself with ... (more)
Safe home leads to new beginnings
September 28, 2012
Yellow tape, boarded up windows and gun shots were just a few of the sights and sounds that ran rampant in Engdasew and Abeba’s former neighborhood. Stepping inside the couple’s one-bedroom apartment, you were greeted with the smell of moldy carpet, along with two five-gallon buckets put in place to gather water from the leaking ... (more)
Habitat program assists hard-working senior citizen
September 28, 2012
Harriett Mednick could serve as spokeswoman for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s program A Brush with Kindness. Through her work with Senior Chore Services, she has referred several senior citizens to the program, which partners applicants who do not have the means to complete repairs on their homes with capable volunteers. A few months ago, ... (more)
Wheelchair accesible home is dream com true
September 28, 2012
Ron awoke to the smell of smoke but originally didn’t think much of it. Then came the fire alarm; there was Ron all alone with nowhere to go. Relegated to a wheelchair and living on the third floor of his apartment building, there was no elevator to bring him to safety. “I thought to myself there ... (more)
A Letter from a homeowner helped by ABWK
September 28, 2012
November 29, 2011 Dear Brush With Kindness Staff, Last week when while reflecting on all I am thankful for, I realized that the help I received from your program is at the top of my “gratitude list.” Thanks to the many hours your staff and volunteers contributed to scraping and painting my house, the city is no ... (more)
Betty Jones and Family
September 28, 2012
If Betty Jones’ walls could talk, they would have some success stories to share. Nearly twenty years after moving into her Habitat home in Minneapolis, the numbers only begin to tell the story: Three hundred hours of sweat equity. Two now-grown daughters. Five grandchildren. Countless friends and community connections. One house paid in full. Back in 1990 ... (more)
Building a healthy home
September 27, 2012
There are few men who can say they’ve worked harder in their lives than Dan Wilson. Growing up in a tough, low-income neighborhood, Dan learned early that there were no shortcuts in life—anything worth having he must earn himself. He never depended on assistance from others; he had witnessed more than his share of empty promises ... (more)
Learning: A true value of Habitat
September 27, 2012
Theresa Comer sits on the front porch of her almost 20-year home. A stained glass window with vibrant lilies and three ichthys fish symbols welcome anyone who visits. “It was custom-made by one of the practitioners at St. John Newman, the crew who worked on our house,” says Theresa. “They even provided a babysitter on the ... (more)
A Brush with Kindness helps family remain under one roof
September 27, 2012
For the past few years the Feucht family has known little but loss and hardship. A year ago, already under emotional and financial pressure from the death of their mother, the four Feucht siblings also lost their father. Suddenly Victoria, Joel, Sara and Billy found themselves struggling under the financial and bureaucratic burdens of homeownership. ... (more)
Foreclosure prevention program helps resident save home
September 27, 2012
Boarded up windows, (sheriff’s notice taped to a door), abandoned houses, empty neighborhoods – we all know the signs of foreclosure in our community. Even as the economy starts its slow recovery, however, the crisis is far from over. Fortunately, Twin Cities Habitat’s Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program and other community organizations have been able to ... (more)
Kinini Jegeno and Family
September 26, 2012
It’s like a dream,” says Kinini Jegeno, of becoming a Habitat homeowner. But before he, wife Zemzem and daughter Hiree moved to their new home in Woodbury, life for the Jegeno family could fairly be described as a nightmare. Living in a damp, cramped and mold—infested basement apartment in St. Paul, their young daughter’s health began to ... (more)
Twin Cities Habitat saving homes from foreclosure
September 24, 2012
With all the negative news out there about foreclosures here’s one bright spot – Kelly Behrendt is going to keep his South Minneapolis home, and he says it’s all thanks to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH). Kelly was paying child support and began falling behind on his mortgage in 2010. He tried working with ... (more)
Todd receives A Brush with Kindness during JRCWP in St. Paul
October 18, 2010
Recent storms have been especially difficult for Todd Thomas and his St. Paul home. Every time a strong rain comes, Todd finds himself placing five gallon buckets in all corners of the house to catch the water dripping inside. When snow melts in the wintertime he’s back at it again. This 1920’s home is way past ... (more)
Robert & Rose receive A Brush with Kindness during JRCWP
October 18, 2010
“We’ve been married 51 years,” says Robert proudly as he sits down with his wife at the kitchen table to share their story. Robert and Rose Marie have been residents of their North Minneapolis neighborhood for 47 of those years together, and they are excited that Habitat has committed much of its energy and resources ... (more)
Judy’s receives A Brush with Kindness during JRCWP
October 18, 2010
You can call it serendipity that brought Judith Schell and A Brush with Kindness together. While leaving her East Side St. Paul home this summer, she was approached by a Habitat staff member in the neighborhood and left her with a brochure. “Of course I had heard of Habitat, but I thought they just built houses,” she says. ... (more)
Vicki Family Story
October 4, 2010
“Would you like something to drink? I could make you an iced mocha,” Vicki Olson sweetly suggests from her dining room seat. If the world is split into givers and takers, then Vicki is most certainly a giver. She and her daughter, Alissa, have been longtime volunteers in the local community and schools. Alissa is ... (more)
Dannie Mae
October 4, 2010
For Dannie Mae McKibbins this October’s work project won’t be her first time meeting President Jimmy Carter. When Dannie was a student at the University of Minnesota, Carter spoke to a large group of students in her nursing program. At the end of the speech he invited “Dannie from Georgia” to join him for a ... (more)
Patricia’s Family Story
October 4, 2010
Patricia Dukes has lived in her St. Paul home for just over a year. She loves the quiet neighborhood and having space to host her large family, but she needs just one more thing to create an ideal living situation – a wheelchair ramp. After undergoing back surgery nearly a decade ago, Patricia experiences pain ... (more)
Valerie’s Family Story
October 4, 2010
Valerie Brown has been in her East Side home since 1999. “This is it,” she says of her plans to stay. But living with her 20 year old daughter Britany and her elderly uncle Wallace in a home built in1888 has certainly come with its challenges: there was the broken furnace, a nonexistent ventilation system, and ... (more)
Antonio’s Family Story
October 4, 2010
When Antonio Botello dreams of improving his house, he envisions smooth siding, crisp white paint, and hunter green trim to match his garage. Last summer, when he contacted the East Side Neighborhood Development Company (ESNDC), they donated 18 gallons of white paint. This summer, through Twin Cities Habitat’s A Brush with Kindness volunteers, he’ll have ... (more)
Robert & Rose Marie
October 4, 2010
“We’ve been married 51 years,” says Robert proudly as he sits down with his wife at the kitchen table to share their story. Robert and Rose Marie have been residents of their North Minneapolis neighborhood for 47 of those years together, and they are excited that Habitat has committed much of its energy and resources ... (more)
Kristin’s family story
October 4, 2010
As co-block leader, Kristin Jorenby has organized National Night Out events, removed absentee landlords, worked to demolish abandoned homes and helped her neighborhood win a Building Blocks award in 2007. Her mantra: “I know there are good parts to this neighborhood and there are bad parts. I can choose to ignore it or I can ... (more)
SaDee’s family story
October 4, 2010
“It’s been a work in progress since my parents owned this house.” SaDee grew up in this 100-year-old home that she now owns. Her parents lived in the house for over 30 years, and a few years ago they sold it to her. Since taking ownership, SaDee has assumed responsibility of restoring this historic home ... (more)
Deborah’s family story
October 4, 2010
Raising five children, Deborah has fine-tuned her ability to identify not only with different individuals, but also with different generations. She realizes the importance of understanding how each of her kids communicates with his or her peers, and says of this unceasing education, “I wouldn’t say it makes life complicated, but it makes it really, ... (more)
Wendy’s family story
October 4, 2010
Wendy Clark moved into her North Minneapolis home 14 years ago. She came because housing was more affordable than in south Minneapolis, where she grew up, and she knew buying a house would be a good investment for her and her children. She’s come to love the community. When Wendy says her neighborhood is like a big family, you ... (more)
Kayoua Yang
October 4, 2010
Family connection is a very important aspect of the Hmong culture, and Kayoua has always wanted a safe home and a good neighborhood where her children can grow up. More than anything Kayoua believes that “family comes first,” and with that comes “safety and stability.” For over 12 years now, Kayoua has worked as a ... (more)
Mohammed & Sahra
October 4, 2010
Mohammed, Sahra and their four children love reading. The family speaks three languages and their twin girls are enrolled in gifted programs. Every day when Mohammed leaves for Children’s Hospital, where he works as a respiratory therapist, and every day when Sahra leaves for Metro State University, where she is enrolled in classes, they’re working ... (more)
Tseganesh & Ashenafi
October 4, 2010
Tseganesh Tesema moved to Minnesota from Ethiopia in November 2002. When she arrived, she was taken back by the cold weather and snow. Coming from a more tropical climate, it took some time to adapt to the state’s four seasons and its frigid winters. “Now I like it,” she says today. “I like the snow.” It ... (more)
Tadesse’s family story
October 3, 2010
Along with his wife, Maereg, and two daughters Tsion (8) and Mekdelawit (4), Tadesse Nigatu joins other Habitat homebuyer families as part of the 27th Annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. Originally from Ethiopia, Tadesse and his family have been struggling in their current residence, a cramped apartment in St. Paul run by neglectful ... (more)
Ya Landa’s Family Story
October 3, 2010
When her family finally moves into their Habitat home, Ya Landa Kinchelow will be breathing easier, literally. A collapsed lung landed her in the hospital last January as a result of the poor air quality, uncontrollable thermostat and lack of air ventilation in her current apartment. She has dealt with exercise induced asthma for years, ... (more)
Helen’s family story
October 3, 2010
“When I found out I got accepted, I couldn’t control myself. I was the happiest person ever,” recalled Helen Getahun regarding her acceptance into the Homeownership Program. When a Habitat for Humanity Family Services associate called her to ask if she had any change in income prior to receiving news of her acceptance, Helen was ... (more)
Yared & Yorsalem’s family story
October 3, 2010
As struggling parents in a one-bedroom apartment, Yared and his wife Yorsalem were initially told that all Habitat homebuyers had been selected for 2010. However, they held on to hope—and to their faith. “We don’t give up. We hope,” attests Yared. “We are Christians. We live in hope.” Then one summer day, which happened to be ... (more)
kitessa & ebise’s family story
October 3, 2010
By the time their home in North Minneapolis is ready, Kitessa and Ebise’s family of three will become four. Kitessa and Ebise, both from Ethiopia, are expecting a second child at the end of July. For this young and growing family, a home of their own will be a welcome change. At first, the offer to ... (more)
Donjia’s Family Story
October 3, 2010
Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Donjia McDonald is a friendly, busy, and proud mother of three. She currently works as an overnight counselor at a group home. She had worked at a bank for four years, but she lost that job when the recession deepened. According to Donjia, “Once you’ve experienced a lay-off, you ... (more)
Melo’s Family Story
October 3, 2010
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Melo Lawson and her family are an incredible reminder of these powerful words. Since coming to the United States from Togo in 2003, Melo and her four young children have waited patiently to settle into a home of their own. Melo first applied to be a ... (more)
Nina’s Family Story
October 3, 2010
When Nina heard that she had been selected for a Habitat home, she shouted with joy and then fell silent, stunned by the good news. As she hung up the phone, Nina’s children stared at her in surprise. “Mom,” they asked, “Are you okay?” Nina and her four children, ages 8 through 14, are eager for ... (more)
Drakeima’s Family Story
October 3, 2010
Drakeima Ingram moved her family from Chicago to Minneapolis in 1995, hoping to find a better life. Since then, they have been at the mercy of bad landlords, dealing with foreclosures, court appearances, broken appliances, rodents, and maintenance issues. “Everything was like a bad joke,” she recalls. “It was too much stress, just too much.” Becoming ... (more)
hamza & Abdulazize
October 3, 2010
A room, no larger than a small office, houses four mats, four pillows, and a TV on a stand. Abdulazize, his father Hamza and two younger brothers share these four walls, which hold all of their possessions. “It’s a room to sleep,” Abdulazize says. The family of four, all boys, shares a one bedroom within ... (more)
Halima and Abu
October 3, 2010
For Halima Abdi and Abu Wali, life is about balance. With three energetic young boys and their teenage niece at home, it can be hard for these working parents to find time for their own careers. And for the next few months they will do all that, plus attend homeownership classes and work several hundred ... (more)
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