Hector, Guadalupe, and their children Ingrid (25), Jesus (20), and Hector (16) have lived in a 2-bedroom apartment in City Heights since they emigrated from Mexico in 2010. The entire apartment complex is poorly maintained, unsafe, and littered with trash. Gang and drug activity abound. Ingrid sleeps on the sofa, and the boys share
Baltazar and Ann and their sons Gustavo (14) and Cesar (20), and daughter Diana (16), are currently renting a home in National City. The owner of the home rents the house to the family for a low price because they agreed not to make any maintenance requests. As a result, the family does not
Abraham, his wife Kristina, and their children Elizabeth (9) and Mark (12) currently live in a small rented apartment in Imperial Beach. They constantly deal with ignored maintenance issues, including plumbing backups and mold. The children share a bedroom, and as they become teenagers, Abraham and Kristina desperately want to be able to provide
Zeynadu, a single mom from Ethiopia, and her sons Amir (7) and Aymaan (4) currently live in a small two-bedroom apartment. The boys love action movies, superheroes, and magic tricks (which they are getting pretty good at!) Safety is one of the biggest concerns for this family, as several of the units in the
Urbano, Mayra, Efrain (19), Daisy (11), and Emily (7) have lived in their three-bedroom apartment in National City for the past seven years. There are many disturbances in the complex, and it affects the children greatly. Vandals break car windows and light trash cans on fire. Management does not respond to these issues or
Pavel, Carmen, Tania (15), and Pavelito (9) lived in an extremely small two-bedroom unit in Jamul for 4 years before purchasing their Habitat home. Pavel emigrated from Cuba, and now works as a case manager helping refugees get the resources they need to get out of the welfare system and proudly stand on their
Daniel and Manuela have lived in their current rental unit for the past eight years. The family is very close, but it gets very cramped in the two-bedroom apartment they all share. Mom Manuela and Dad Daniel have a room, Melissa (18) and Sofia (10) share a room – and sleep in the same
Vicky, Gary, and their granddaughter, Alex, have lived in their current apartment for the past six years. The apartment is infested with termites, but the landlord has not done anything to address this issue. In fact, Vicky and Gary do not call their landlord if they have any maintenance requests for fear of their
Fernando and Marlene currently live in a rented apartment in San Ysidro. Fernando works as a Site Manager at a janitorial services company, and Marlene is a stay-at-home mom to Edgar, age 3. The landlord does not respond to maintenance requests, leaving Fernando and Marlene to address - and pay for – all repairs
Husam and Noor, along with their 5 year-old daughter, Natalee, are the proud new owners of a Habitat home in the El Cajon Foundation Lane Community. Husam and Noor understand what it feels like to live in a community without security, peace and stability. They came to the United States as refugees from Iraq
