Meet Selam and her Family!

Selam is a single mother raising two children. She knows the value of a good education, and spent years working part-time while going to school. Selam now works full-time as an LPN and really enjoys her job. Two years ago, she found herself unable to afford housing when her children’s father left.  It was a struggle to continue to rent their Aurora house and ended up having to move into a small two bedroom apartment they could afford with her Mother.

The current apartment is more affordable than their previous house, but Selam and her family admit their living situation is unhealthy and not sustainable. Rent continues to rise and the apartment is already too small for their family, with Selam and her two children (3 and 5) sharing one bedroom.  As they dream of a brighter future, they continue to encounter more and more obstacles in their current rental.

Their current apartment is expensive to heat due to improper use, upkeep and maintenance of the heating system. They experience constant water leaks in the kitchen and the apartment has flooded twice since moving in 7 months ago. Selam finds it difficult to incorporate a healthy diet because their oven does not work and recently their refrigerator was out of commission. In addition, they have to deal with a constant rodent, cockroach, and spider problem. They experience slow repair times from building management even on major repairs, like when their heating system was not operational for one month this winter.

Selam has researched and visited her future neighborhood and is excited about living in a developing area close to her work where her family can feel safe and welcome. Currently, they are exposed to regular fights and drug use in the hallways and surrounding areas of the apartment. Everyone living in the apartment feels unsafe and exposed to threats.

In preparation for owning her home, Selam has already started working with Habitat Metro Denver to plan her sweat equity hours on the Habitat build sites, while scheduling her Home Buyer Education Classes, and organizing her finances to pay her 0% Habitat mortgage. She is excited to bring her positive values into her new home, as she raises her children alongside her mother, all while living the future vision she has for her family.