Meet Our Families
Meet Leticia Hatol
Having lived in a string of rental homes, most currently in Section 8 housing, Leticia Hatol is looking forward to the completion of her Habitat home.
“I want a stable life for my kids,” she said one recent January weekend as construction on her home was beginning.
Hatol and her family – husband David and children, 13-year-old Joshua and 10-year-old Sarina – have lived in three different rentals in the last few years. Memories in some of those homes are not exactly good, she said.
“We lived in a duplex … we had no front yard. The kids could only play in the back,” she said of a previous home they rented. “The neighbors … they were junkies. We would find needles. When we took out the trash or went out, we had to keep looking down so we wouldn’t step on needles.”
The fear of stepping on needles wasn’t the only problem with that house.
“The air conditioner didn’t really work. It would get really hot,” she said. “We would also get rats in the house.”
Although the landlord would take measures to kill the rodents, dead rats and heat posed other problems.
“They would die in the walls and smell,” Hatol said. “I just didn’t like the rats.”
Hatol, the main provider for her two young children and disabled husband, said she likes the house they are currently living in, but knows owning her own home – and especially the affordable mortgage payments – will be so much better for her family.
“This house is 100 times better then the ones we’ve lived in before,” she said. “Right now we are paying $651 for my rent and it is going up to $750. I don’t want to spend that much on something we are not going to keep.”
She will pay approximately half of her rent payment for her Habitat monthly mortgage payment. The savings she will have from her new mortgage payment will allow her to spend that money on other needs of her family. As an added bonus, owning her home will offer the stability for her children that she has been dreaming of. Hatol also said she will be proud of knowing she has worked really hard to provide a home for her family.
“It’s good. It does make me feel tired,” she said of her work to complete the required 300 hours of sweat equity.
Her days generally begin very early. She rises at 4:30 a.m. to have her husband to dialysis treatment by 5:30 a.m. The day ends with her 3:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. shift as a senior beauty advisor at a local Walgreens.
“I do a lot for my family … but it’s my job,” she said smiling. “And I try to get a little sleep when I can.”
Meet the Faubion Family
The Faubion family is no stranger to adversity. Richard has had to deal with adversity his entire life. He was born a paraplegic. Having to agonize and grow up with this limited ability was one thing, but to have his family suffer because of it was another. Their family’s low-income and continued need for fully accessible housing forced them to settle for years of unsuitable living conditions. Until 1998, they had always had to depend on Section 8 Housing. They had to move almost on an annual basis to escape rent increases in already too expensive apartments that did not meet their family’s needs.
Because of the assistance of Habitat for Humanity, Richard and his wife, Angela, are no longer forced to live with nothing but obstacles. They can finally enjoy their lives together and can devote full attention to raising their youngest child, Joshua. Richard is not only proud to own the first fully accessible home that Habitat built, but he also feels extremely blessed. “Now our family doesn’t have to spend huge amounts of our money to rent equipment to help me better move around in our home -- not only do I live in an accessible home now, but I also own it”. Despite Richard’s physical challenges he finally feels the one thing he has so desperately wanted his entire life -- a sense of pride.
Meet the Swank Family
Kathy Swank always wanted to be a teacher. It was a goal she kept in sight even though she confronted obstacles along the way.
Before her son was born, Kathy lived with her mother, and paid no rent, but she knew the living conditions were not suitable for child-rearing-the paint was lead-based and there was no yard. She realized she would have to move and the expense of housing would force her to postpone her education until she could afford to go back to school. Then she was fortunate enough to partner with Habitat for Humanity and purchase her own home-a first step toward providing a new life for her son and herself.
Kathy’s brother shared her dream of completing college. Unselfishly, she decided to help him first and she supported him through his last few semesters before he received his engineering degree. Her brother believed the only way to repay his sister was to provide her the same opportunity. He made it possible for her to go back to school. Within two years she had earned her bachelor’s degree in education.
Kathy says, “None of this would have been possible if I was not blessed with an affordable mortgage payment through Habitat. It has allowed me to save money and now I can go back to school to receive my master’s degree in counseling so I can become a school counselor.
Meet the Lerma Family
Consider walking in Jesse and Guadalupe Lerma’s shoes for a moment. Imagine spending 24 trying years living in a house infested with termites. Every day you fear the fragile boards will crumble, leaving your family nowhere to live. The Lermas did not request repairs because they feared the landlord would increase the rent. They already were struggling to pay the $480 a month rent. Home for them was not really a place they wanted to be.
Now almost ten years later Guadalupe reminisces in her living room about what she describes as “miracles”. She can truly say, “I thank God every day for our home.” The Habitat program not only provided her family a safe and affordable home, but also helped reinforce the fundamental values she and her husband so desperately wanted to instill in their children.
Most of all – their Habitat home has provided stability for their children. Jesse Jr. had seen the determination and hard work of his parents and the volunteers who helped build their affordable home. His parent’s determination became his own. Jesse Jr. dreamed of going to college but knew tuition costs were too high for his parents to afford.
But the Lermas vowed to make his dream a reality. With the extra money saved from paying their affordable mortgage along with the sale of Guadalupe’s homemade cookies and tamales the Lermas had enough money to help their son pay for his tuition and books at UTSA so he could receive his Bachelor’s degree. “These past 9 years in our home have been a blessing and miracle for us that we can enjoy for years to come,” Guadalupe says.
Meet the Soto Family
Sometimes Juan and Eva Soto look down at their newborn son and revel in the security they now are able to offer him. They sleep easier knowing he and his big sisters will always have a place to call home. They feel that moving into their Habitat home has had an extremely positive impact on their children. Now their children have a real yard to play in and actually invite their neighboring friends over to play.
Prior to discovering Habitat for Humanity, the Soto’s daughters, Bernice Elizabeth and Samantha, spent the majority of their “play” time inside their small 2-bedroom apartment. The apartment complex was in a crime-ridden area and it was very unsafe for them to play outside. Juan and Eva wished they could provide a better environment for their children but always knew that they would not qualify for a home because of their low-income.
That all changed after they built their Habitat home. Now their children have a yard to play in and the opportunity to interact with other kids. The Sotos have seen a difference in their children. Their youngest daughter, Samantha has become the “social butterfly” whereas Bernice Elizabeth is still very shy. Juan and Eva attribute this to the fact that Samantha was able to interact with other children at a younger age. The Soto’s are very grateful to Habitat and its supporters for helping them build a healthy and safe house to raise their three children.