Meet Tracey, one of our partner families. Tracey is a mother to 4 wonderful children. Tracey found herself facing challenging times as a single mother trying to keep a roof over her family’s head. She moved 8 times in 11 years and at times this was every 6 months. Tracey was constantly living in distress thinking “what are we going to do?” until she partnered with Habitat for Humanity Australia.
Tracey’s teenage son Harrison is intellectually delayed and also requires regular bone marrow transplants, which made their tough situation even more harrowing. As so many Australians can relate to, the family were in the horrible throws of the rental market. Finding a ‘forever’ home was financially impossible as investors were snapping up all the homes on the market and driving up the price.
“It was difficult to find somewhere that could fit me and the 4 kids, and we were caught in a horrible cycle. I remember sitting alone one day, thinking ‘What are we going to do?!’”, said Tracey.
This is where Habitat for Humanity Australia stepped in back in 2016 to offer Tracey a hand up through a path into homeownership.
“When we arrived, I thought ‘We’re here! This is ours! What a blessing the gift of a mortgage was!
For a while, the family did nothing to the home as they weren’t used to being allowed to make changes after renting for so long.
“With Harrison’s condition, we can now make tweaks and modify the home to support him. I’m so grateful I can leave this home to him and know he will be supported there. He won’t need to leave.
We’ve just got some new picture frames that are hanging empty on the wall, but we will be filling them with family photos to remind us of the memories we’ve had here. It might sound like a small thing, but I can’t wait for that hallway of pictures and memories to be my thing. So wonderful.
Not only are we appreciative of Habitat that we were supported to get into our own home, but it’s given us security and a better sense of family. And a real sense of place. I have such ownership and pride of this house, and just don’t know how to put it into words. I’m so grateful that people at Habitat and their supporters said ‘We can make a difference.’ I don’t have the burden of worry anymore. I’m no monger wondering ‘will I get a letter in the mail tomorrow saying we have to move again?’- Tracey.
