My husband and I had a 2 year old and we were living with his parents because we didn't have enough credit to purchase a home. Habitat for Humanity of Oakland county not only gave us an intrest free loan for a beautifully built home but they gave us the knowledge to understand how to maintain our home both fiscally and structually. I was blessed enough to have them put us through finacial classes and they spent hours of their time to answer my endless questions. I enjoyed being apart of the process to refurbish my own home and it felt good to know this was a way to help my family and not just feel weird about a handout, we're just not good with those. I can think of no other organization that cares more about it's community and helps families with the most basic essentials a family needs to thrive, Knowledge, a debit free start, and beliefe in humanity.
I have worked with Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County for more than 6 years in the role of providing Financial Education, Homebuyer Education, and Neighborhood Revitalization efforts. Habitat strives to make sure that their partner families are well-educated in the homeownership process so that they will be successful homeowners. Habitat is also concerned about more than just the partner families but also the community overall. Habitat works with neighborhood residents to do a variety of community projects including playground development and community cleanups and they were vital in engaging in a Neighborhood Revitalization Plan on Pontiac's east-side.
Habitat helped me improve my life in so many ways. It all started when I lost my job. The company I worked for was suffering due to the economy; the business was collapsing. Coworker after coworker was "released to the industry." Then it happened to me. I decided to return to school to finish my degree so that I could build upon my talents and pursue a career in business administration. I applied for the work-study program at Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County and was given part-time work directly related to my degree-of-study. After working with Habitat for a year, I applied for the home-ownership program and got word that we were approved just in time for Christmas. After the new year, I was hired on full-time. In May 2012, I graduated cum laude from Oakland Community College with an Associate Degree in Business Administration. I worked very hard to improve my life but I would never had gotten this far without help from the community that Habitat brought together. Now, I don't have to worry about breathing the black mold that grew from frequent flooding of raw sewage in the basement of our rental house. I don't have to worry about the expensive energy bills from that old, poorly insulated house. I don't have to worry about the rats that lived in the abandoned house next door spreading disease to my dogs. I am incredibly proud of my home and so grateful to the thousands of strangers that volunteered to improve their local community. Habitat helped me build a house, but more than that, they helped me build hope for the future and confidence in my ability.
Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County, Inc continually strives to help eliminate substandard housing, revitalize communities and bring hope to not only those it serves, but also the families and neighbors of its partner families. Habitat for Humanity provides an excellent opportunity for volunteers to become engaged in their community and to make a long term difference. There is always a can-do attitude rather than the pretense that nothing can be done.
Habitat for Humanity of Oakland has been wonderful to my family and I. I have several roles at Habitat, the first is that I am a Very Proud Homeowner. The home was built for my mother and I in the 2006 Blitz. Habitat built 5 homes in 2 weeks and we were blessed to be one of the families. At the time of the build I had just gotten out of the hospital and was not allowed to go on the build site, but I was allowed to work in the office for the 2 weeks and my mom would go on the site everyday. From the very beginning of the process it was a gift from god. The staff did everything they could to help us in every way. I became a part of the Habitat Family. Not only did Habitt build my family a home, I was blessed with two jobs, first as the front desk receptionist and for the past serveral years as a cashier/customer service rep in the ReStore. A few years after my home was built, my brother and his kids were blessed with a the first Habitat Rebuild. I was also chosen to be a mentor to some of the new partner families when they come into the program. Habitat is always looking for better ways to help the new families as they come in. We have such hard working, dedicated staff and volunteers. It is so rewarding to be not only a Home Owner but a part of the wonderful staff and organization. Habitat for Humanity Just Keeps Giving and Building Communities all of the World. It is Truly A Gift from God. Thank You! Floretta Turnipseed