For many people, there is no better feeling than coming home on a Friday evening after a long week of responsibilities. The weekend is here, and you can finally relax. The phrase “Home Sweet Home” has never been truer as you enter the place you feel most, well … at home.

For Tracy and her son, Kane, the thought of coming home sounds much different. The three-bedroom trailer they live in has fallen into major disrepair, and the primary culprit is all around.

“What concerns me the most is what we are breathing in: the mold,” said Tracy, a single mother. “We both have severe allergies, and we just don’t feel good, either one of us. We don’t feel good when we are home.” For them, coming home is not relaxing. The trailer has multiple weak spots and holes they must avoid. Not only that, they encounter mice and other pests (including camel crickets) on an almost-daily basis.

In one word, Tracy describes their current housing: “Disgusting.”

After a rigorous application process, Tracy and Kane were accepted into the Habitat Homeownership Program in August, 2022. Tracy’s first feeling after hearing the news was shock: “I am still in shock! It doesn’t seem real,” Tracy said weeks afterward.

Now Tracy and Kane start the difficult yet rewarding journey to homeownership. Both are eagerly anticipating a home that lifts unnecessary burdens from their shoulders. “I want a safe place where I don’t have to worry about the mold, the air quality, or our health,” Tracy said. As a young boy approaching middle school, Kane is particularly looking forward roasting hotdogs and smores over a campfire in his new backyard. The home will allow them to enjoy the small luxuries that make life meaningful: campfires, porch swings, a garden, usable kitchen and more.

Through Habitat’s program, Tracy and Kane will be involved with the planning, organizing and building of their new home. In one word, Tracy describes what this home means to them: “It’s a blessing. I have thought long and hard, and that is what comes to mind all the time. God is good.”