Vanessa and future homeowner Amanda happily stand shoulder to shoulder while volunteering on a job site.
As a single mother to her 13-year-old son Emanuel, Vanessa has faced numerous challenges in providing a safe and nurturing environment for her child.
“We needed a home that was somewhere safe for our situation,” Vanessa said of her decision to partner with Habitat.
Emanuel was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, and from then on, Vanessa’s life was dedicated to giving her son the resources and support he needed.
Emanuel’s father has been incarcerated since Vanessa was three months pregnant, leaving her to provide, teach, and fight through everyday struggles on her own.
The obstacles kept coming when Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County. After the storm, Vanessa and Emanuel were left without electricity for two weeks, forcing them to leave the state. Their home suffered physical damage, making it difficult for them to return.
Since then, they shared a home with another family, including three children and one parent. “In our three-bedroom home, space is very limited and overwhelming for my son,” Vanessa said. “I have been working every second to provide and try to save for our own space.”
Vanessa can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing she is a Habitat homeowner in McNeill Village, located along the border of Cape Coral. The location is just minutes from Emanuel’s school and close to his Applied Behavior Analyst (ABA) therapist. “It’s the perfect location for all of his needs, and it can also be the light at the end of this bumpy road we’ve been along.”
As their new home was being constructed, Vanessa began planning the spaces that would make the biggest difference in their lives. “I am most excited about having a sensory room for my son because he doesn’t have that,” she said. “We’ve actually started getting some items to create his sensory room so whenever he feels overwhelmed or overstimulated, he can have a space where he can be calm, relax, and desensitize himself.”
This new home will also be a place where Vanessa can meet her own needs, looking forward to having a dedicated space for her work desk, which is currently in her bedroom.
Vanessa completed 300 hours of sweat equity, attended more than 20 hours of homeownership education classes, and paid $2,000 toward closing costs. Throughout the process, Vanessa has come to deeply appreciate the sense of community she’s discovered in McNeill.
“What I find the most valuable are my neighbors in the McNeill community,” she said. “I have worked beside them, doing our community hours and our classes, and we’ve all become really close like a big family. I’m excited to see what our community turns into when we start moving in.”
