Women Build Bio: Sophia
As a single mother of three children, Sophia knows that having a stable home is crucial for her family’s future. However, between the shortage of affordable housing options and continuous spikes in rent—finding a permanent home was challenging for Sophia. “We just kept bouncing from apartment to apartment every time the rent would go up,” she said. Today, her family of four rents a two-bedroom apartment, “a three-bedroom would be ideal so my girls could have their own rooms, but I can barely afford our current place.”
Sophia has always dreamed of owning a home. With a home, she could accommodate her growing children and begin to build the personal and economic stability she desires. But with a modest income and limited access to credit—how could she save for a down-payment or be approved for a home loan? After hearing of Habitat for Humanity’s affordable homeownership program through a friend, Sophia applied and was accepted in November 2019.
Since then, she’s been working on her sweat equity hours and has enjoyed doing construction projects with Habitat volunteers. She’s excited for her kids to have their own rooms and looks forward to having an affordable mortgage capped at 30 percent of her income. But, “above all, I want to raise my children in our HOME, I want them to be proud of me and to know that I’m doing this for them.”
Learn how you can support families like Sophia’s by visiting habitat4humanity.org/womenbuild.
