“Home. I guess I would say it is the place where you are your most vulnerable, a space of comfort and tranquility, a space of love and familial growth and fellowship, a space where you can safely experience your rawest self: happiness, sadness, and all the emotions in between. Home is my blessed oasis- where I will continue to grow, and where I will successfully raise my children in light and love.” Jolandra Cole moved into her self-described blessed oasis in April. You can catch up on the first part of her journey here.

Jolandra kept up the momentum from the first few months and moved through the program quickly. She finished her hours almost faster than her house could be built, despite some surprises. Shortly after starting her partnership, Jolandra found out she was expecting.

“Discovering I was pregnant, being ill, and still working in 100 plus degree heat to complete my construction hours was the most difficult part.” With the help of family and friends, though, she was able to work on site and get her hours quickly. “My dedicated family and friends made sacrifices along with me to ensure we got into our home. My goal was to get in and out, to begin this journey and complete it because I look at my daughter every day and she deserves a home. She deserves to grow up in a space where she can be herself, loud, loving, and playful.”

Jolandra, her daughter, and new son have settled into their home now and are looking to the future. “Now I’m in the process of planning my family barbecue that I couldn’t wait to have. It will be here sooner than you think!”

Going through the program has inspired a new outlook for the present as well. Jolandra said, “Logging on to any social media site or simply flipping on the news can sometimes insist there is little to no good in this world anymore, that people just don’t care about people. Actually working on a lot of these sites, having the opportunity to encounter and engage so many people who faithfully come out and work, with only gratification in knowing they have helped someone make his or her dreams come true… it’s really a beautiful thing! It reinvigorates a spirit of community that has come to be so fragile.”