When she became the single mother of an autistic little boy, nothing became more important to Bre than finding a way to make sure her son, Shunye, had a healthy and stable home to call his own.

For years, renting was her only option - dealing with problems like overpricing, bad landlords, and mold.

Bre knew the Habitat homeownership program would not be the easy way to get a home loan. Contributing 300 hours of sweat equity as her down payment for her loan has been a challenge, but one she knew would be worth it in the end.

Recently Bre told us, “Owning a home will be a dream come true. I can invest in something I believe in AND set an example for my son to work hard for things in life. Now I’m confident my son Shunye will have a healthy home to live in. He’ll be safe from toxins and will have a neighborhood for him to grow up in.”

During her work on the build sites, Bre has had the opportunity to work alongside many of Habitat’s dedicated volunteers. One volunteer, Irv, brought tears to her eyes when he explained why he gives his time to Habitat.

“Irv told me he volunteers because he truly wants us to succeed,” Bre said. “This is truly a humbling experience - to see so much love put into my house.”