For the past 12 years Norma, a single mother with two kids – Kayla (18) and Chris (12)- has been trying to find a way to change the living situation for her family. Their neighborhood was plagued with gang violence, drug trafficking and shootings and she knew she wanted a better future for her kids. The building itself had broken and damaged appliances, holes in the doors and walls and no help or maintenance from the building owners. These issues only continued to get worse as Norma searched for new housing opportunities.
“The most important thing for me is my children and their safety. They are my world and I want to be able to provide my children a place they could feel safe and be able to call home.”
After years of searching and putting in over 250 hours of “sweat equity” volunteer time with SGV Habitat, Norma and her kids are just moments away from having the keys to a home of their own. Soon Kayla, Chris and Norma will move into their newly renovated house in El Sereno.
“With this opportunity my children will be able to strive for more, such as with their education, being able to be active, and I will not have to struggle with having to worry about my children’s safety, said Norma.”
Her kids are also ecstatic about the new home and their new rooms with Kayla saying “I think it will be nice to have my own personal space, since I’ve had to share a room for the past 18 years. So I’m pretty glad that I get my own space and my own privacy.” She looks forward to decorating. Chris also likes the benefits of the new home saying “my friends live around here, and my school is close to here.” And when asked about having his own room he laughed and simply said “more sleep.”
As Norma stood with her son and daughter in their soon to be home she had tears of joys as she said:
“Its just been a blessing, and I want to thank the volunteers for all the hours and the effort, it means a lot to us. If it wasn’t for SGV Habitat, and the volunteers, I wouldn’t have this right now. I wouldn’t have a place for my kids.”