Purchasing a home in 2023 is a dream for many American families but also difficult to achieve. Some of those dreams are still within grasp thanks to the helping hands of charitable organizations.
Habitat for Humanity Seminole-Apopka invited the community to their home dedication celebrations for Calandra Bryant on Wednesday and Keetonia Wilson on Saturday. The amount of support received was impressive, with friends, family, and elected officials showing up to take a step inside these newly built homes.
Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization, helps make homes attainable for those who could not afford one. Muffet Robinson, director of communications for Habitat for Humanity Seminole-Apopka, said a common misconception is that they just give homes away when in actuality, they require applicants to maintain a certain income and complete 200 hours of “sweat equity,” which is volunteer work in the construction of Habitat homes.
Robinson said that anyone can volunteer, and construction is overseen by a site supervisor. Habitat homes must pass the same kind of inspection that any other house would. With that in mind, having a site supervisor and inspections results in quality-constructed homes.
Penny Seater, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Seminole-Apopka, said that those who work for or with the organization are dedicated to helping young families succeed in life. Seater said that helping people build wealth and be able to hand that down to their children is why she does her job passionately.
“I love the ability to be able to bridge that gap and just bring the right people around the table to make it possible for those who it may not have been possible otherwise,” she said.
Seater said Habitat for Humanity often works with Black or Hispanic families, usually single moms, because of the disparity in home ownership. She said that when they choose someone to build a home for, they look for those who are hardworking, self-sufficient, and self-reliant.
“Some of us inherit wealth, and some of us inherit poverty,” Seater said. “It’s by no choice of our own. Usually, it’s where you were born.”
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New Apopka homeowner Calandra Bryant had been renting an apartment when she came to the realization that she was funding someone else’s investment. Bryant decided that she wanted to invest in herself and began looking to purchase a home, but to no avail. That is when she found Habitat.
Carrying her Bible, she said that she feels blessed to have had her application accepted. Bryant said she is working her dream job at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom, and after receiving a raise, she met Habitat’s earning requirements.
“God literally led me to Habitat for Humanity,” Bryant said. “I’m grateful for everything that they’ve done throughout this journey because, without that affiliation, it wouldn’t have been possible.”
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Keetonia Wilson, a new South Apopka homeowner, wore a big smile as she celebrated with all the visitors in her new home. One of Wilson’s motivations for wanting to move into a home was her two teenagers and her two-year-old child.
“I made a promise to them a couple of years ago that we will have a forever home, and now we have it,” Wilson said. “They’re definitely grateful.”
Wilson was born and raised in Miami, where she would receive a college degree and worked a good job until she experienced an accident that left her suffering from health complications. Being unable to work and with the rising costs in South Florida, she decided to move to Orlando and had to stay with friends and family
It wasn’t until she found Habitat that home ownership seemed like a real possibility. Wilson said that she wanted to be able to “build generational wealth” that could be inherited by her children. With the house being fully constructed, she said she loves everything about it, especially having a front yard and a backyard for her children to enjoy.
“They can actually get out and run around in their own yard, and I don’t have to be concerned about if a car is gonna hit them…” Wilson said. “Simply having a yard is going to be a change for my kids in so many ways.”
Wilson has a vision of her daughter playing her favorite game, “gotcha,” with her older siblings in the yard, and she can imagine herself watering the grass and learning how to barbecue with her older son.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demmings and Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson attended the event to congratulate Wilson. Demmings said that it felt good to see the excitement expressed on the faces of the Wilson family. He said that under his administration, he wants to make homeownership attainable for more families.
“We have done things like waive impact fees and provide downpayment assistance,” Demmings said. “This is what we want, we want families to own their own homes, and we want to increase that number throughout Orange County…”
Nelson believes that purchasing a new home is becoming increasingly difficult.
“It needs to be around $200,000 to be affordable for the vast majority of people that are not homeless, but you know, housing restricted," he said. "Their income is to the percentage of rent is more than 30%. So 30% of their income or more is going towards housing, and we've got to get that down below 30%, so they've got money to be able to spend and, you know, enjoy their quality of life.”
City Commissioner Diane Velazquez attended both celebrations and said that she fully supports Habitat’s mission. She said that what they do helps strengthen the community by empowering the families and turning empty plots of land into something that has value.
“They take care of the community, and the values of their home, and the land becomes important to them because that’s their equity,” Velazquez said. “It’s the investment of a home, and they get to have one thing… the American Dream, to have your own home and something that you can pass down to your family.”
