Upon first seeing volunteers working on her future Habitat home, Sandra Favors was “overwhelmed, excited, crying, all good things.”
She joined women from all over the city at Women Build 2022 to start working on a home that would mean more than just shelter for her. “Home means a place of safety and security,” she said.
It would also mean more room for her family. Living with her two daughters and two grandchildren, she has shared a one-bedroom apartment with them for years. Her new home will have space for the grandchildren to play and sleep on their own. Her journey to homeownership started three years ago, when she first applied.
Like many applicants, she walked away from the initial application with guidance from Habitat’s case managers on how to stabilize her income so she could qualify. Determined to succeed, she returned despite hurricanes and the pandemic and other setbacks to become a first-time homebuyer.
“I had no other avenue to become a homeowner,” she said. Despite working two jobs as a caregiver for the elderly, she could not qualify for a traditional home loan. Now, she will own the first-ever solar-powered New Orleans Habitat home, with equipment provided by ADT Solar. Thanks to the support of donors and volunteers and groups like ADT – and her own hard work – she has achieved her goals of having a secure home for her family.
