Seven years ago, Habitat homeowner Angela spent her working hours split between two jobs: part-time in a pharmacy and full-time as a substance use disorder counselor.
As she was assisting people with their medications and helping others transition into healthier and independent living, her own health was deteriorating as she was newly pregnant and switching off between living out of her car and a motel.
“So the funny part about that was nobody [at work] knew that I was technically homeless, until I said, ‘Hey, do you have anything available?’” Angela said. She ended up living among the women she was counseling.
That was a steppingstone that helped her find the temporary stability she needed to get back on her feet, and eventually into her own apartment. For the last 5 years, she and her now 6-year-old daughter have called that same apartment home as Angela worked to get her finances, credit and education on track.
2024 was a monumental year for her, as she was approved to purchase a home through Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Her home served as a “volunteer house” for Habitat Orlando & Osceola, meaning it was built from the ground up by volunteers, and was also sponsored by the Orlando Magic. Angela said she’s grateful to know her house was built with generosity and love in mind.
When she first applied to purchase a Habitat home, Angela said she was declined. When application criteria changed and she found out she was approved, she said she cried happy tears on the phone.
“I never gave up the hard work,” she said. “I still kept on working on saving money and doing the budgeting stuff that I had learned.”
In the six years since she’d first set out to get on the path to homeownership, Angela said she’s taken the First-time Homebuyer Workshop three times. To be able to put everything she’d learned to good use and provide a stable, safe place for her and her daughter to live made her lifelong goal a reality.
She now works full time as a patient advocate for a major pharmacy chain, but her goal is to use everything she learned in her experience working to becoming a homeowner, as a housing counselor, and in school to open transitional housing for women and children.
At Habitat Orlando & Osceola, we know that housing is the cornerstone of community progress. Stable and accessible housing leads to better outcomes in education, health, employment, and more. Angela said she’s excited to see those impacts on her daughter’s life.
“Home is not just a dwelling where I’m living, but it’s actually where my heart is. I haven’t made a home for myself. I’ve just been living and I haven’t really had a home since I was with my mom,” Angela said. “So it’s a big deal to be able to provide that for my daughter.”
Angela said before she even moved anything into her home, she was looking forward to just walking into her empty house,
After that, she got to work setting up her bedroom and kitchen. She already knew the first meal on the menu: baked salmon and French onion potatoes.
“One thing that I’m looking forward to the most with having my own house is having my own space to myself. I don’t really have a place to just relax, and that’ll be fun,” she said.
