Like so many of our homebuyers, Shatiqua says she always knew she wanted to own her home one day. After knowing a few people who had a positive experience buying houses through Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity (RAHFH), she decided that RAHFH’s mortgage and homebuying process would be the right fit thanks to the unique resources and support embedded in the program.
Shatiqua has a lot on her plate – she is a mother of one daughter and two sons; she just graduated with her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling; she is a practicing mental health therapist in Rochelle; and amidst all of this, she is buying her first home.
Shatiqua’s house was built by Guilford High School students as part of their advanced construction trades curriculum. This is the sixth house students from Guilford built in partnership with RAHFH. As part of the partnership, students came out to the construction site every school day and built the house from the ground up. The partnership has been an incredible win-win – it allows RAHFH to expand our construction capacity while providing invaluable, hands-on construction experience to students interested in entering the trades after high school. The students began construction on Shatiqua’s house in August of 2022, with the start of the school year, and finished up in May as the school year came to an end.
As she gets ready to close on her loan and move in, Shatiqua says she and her three kids are looking forward to “a new start” and more space in a home they can call their own. “With this home will come peace, comfort, and stability,” Shatiqua says, “and I will have something to pass down to my kids in the future.”
When she takes stock of the last few years, Shatiqua recognizes that, despite enduring some incredible challenges, she is proud of accomplishing so many of her goals, and now she is getting ready to check off her last remaining aspiration: buying her own home.
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