What’s a CrowdBuild??

Through this online platform, you can help us build our next home by purchasing actual materials and supplies for our next family's home. Simply select the DONATE button, shop through the options, pick out the specific items you want to buy, and the materials are delivered directly to us!

How cool is that?  Exactly what we need to build this home is available for you to see and choose what you’d like to contribute. Then it’s delivered directly to our worksite!! Piece by piece, this CrowdBuild brings people together to literally build a house.

The Home Owner Story

I don’t know where to begin, so I will just start here…  I was in a 13 year marriage of severe domestic abuse.  I left several years ago with our first two children, but as I’ve come to learn the average woman in abuse takes eight times to actually leave for good.  That being said, we got back together and had two more children.  The abuse continued and actually got extremely worse. 

During this time, I worked very hard and held two great career positions; however because of my home situation, I eventually lost my employment and had to rely solely on his income to support us.  I went back to school and got my degree in Psychology.  The strain of the relationship and the abuse continued to take its toll on me and my kids, but I was finally able to have him arrested on three separate abuse charges and he was incarcerated for a 5-year term which included a no contact order.  With his incarceration and loss of income, we lost everything.

My children and I lived at SARC safe house where I was able to obtain three part-time jobs. Although I didn’t have any prior experience doing them and none of them were what you could consider career jobs, it was a humbling and fresh start. I started working with a financial advisor from APGFCU, Nancy Hill and with her help I was able to start budgeting, saving and working on my horribly damaged credit - mainly due to his bad choices.

Eventually my time at SARC ended and we were once again saved from homelessness by being accepted into Harford Family House’s transitional housing program where my rent is more affordable than it would be on the open market with a family of five. 

I have worked very hard at paying my debts off and saving.  I was blessed with a grant that helped pay off a lot of the debt as well.  I have saved for a home and know that renting for a family of five will be more than my income allows, owning a home is really the best and only option; however getting an interest rate that is affordable with a mortgage that is also affordable is not something I can foresee finding.  Our lease is up in September and our options are very limited.  I have no family that we can stay with and most subsidized housing either cannot meet my family size needs or there is a 1-4 year waiting list, so homelessness would be inevitable.  After attending the homeownership orientation, I saw that this is the best program and option for me and my children. 

My faith in God has kept me strong and I am amazed at how caring and remarkably resilient my children have been throughout this whole process. They all volunteer at our church and in other areas of our community.   My two oldest are honor roll students and have received many accolades and certificates. My oldest has dreams of being a social worker and says “I want to help children who are abused and homeless”. 

I have been blessed with full custody of my children.  I have safety and security for the first time in my adult life and am free from harmful, negative people.  Habitat for Humanity would be helping me own our first home and a fresh, new start to our future.