San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity

““I just looked at Jason and said, ‘In seven months, we get to go home,’ and I burst into tears,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much fear I had been carrying—that we might never come back.””

““The moment our house burned down, it felt like a heavy weight on us,” Jason said. “We questioned whether we would ever get our lives back. But when SGV Habitat entered the picture, it felt like it might be possible to rebuild a version of our life—and our neighborhood, too.””

““It’s amazing to see people willing to build someone else’s home,” Rosa said. “I know they’re doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.””

““We will reclaim what we have lost and grow from this to become a stronger community,””

““I felt a deep sense of hopelessness when it happened,” she said. “This place turned into a warzone, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.””

““I’m surrounded by the most wonderful community, and I just love my mountains,””

““I’m excited about cooking meals and having everyone around the table, decorations, just owning a home in general is such a dream. I’m excited about everything.””

““With the economy and inflation, I think it’s been very impossible for a lot of young adults to purchase homes, so this has really opened up an opportunity for me to make that dream come true.””

““I thought about moving far away, even out of state. It would be doable, but I would be losing a lot. I would be losing help. I would be losing my kids spending time with their family, their cousins, their grandparents. It wasn’t something that I was willing to lose.””

““With my kids getting older, they all need their space and privacy. It’s nice for them to share space growing up, but as they grow up you also want to give them their own space.””

““It’s always been my dream to have a home and coming from a family of parents that own a home, it’s always been something important. Something that I needed to feel successful.””

““I finally  get  my own room.  I’d have my own space.””

““I found a job in the Inland Empire that paid a lot better, so eventually my goal was to move out there to live and work in the same area, but it’s just a struggle to maintain the rent. The rent goes up 10% and your wages go up 3% if at all,””

““We don’t want to have to move out of state, and we’ve even tried that before, but we love California,””

““The only thing that delayed us was COVID,” Sonia recalled, “but the SGV Habitat team didn’t give up on us.””

““I got rejected from so many other organizations, but SGV Habitat didn’t turn me away,” she said.”

““You can’t beat this staff,” she said. “They make you feel at home. They make you feel like they’re truly working for you. I can’t even begin to thank Habitat for what they’re doing for us.””