Family Feature: Shella and Jessie
When Jessie read about Flatirons Habitat for Humanity in the newspaper two years ago, she thought that the program might be a good fit for her mom, Shella. The single mom-daughter duo have shared a bedroom in Shella’s mom’s house since Jessie was born fifteen years ago. Jessie imagined that applying for homeownership with Habitat could offer her and her mom the opportunity to have their own space.
After attending an orientation and going through the homeowner application process, Shella was selected as a future Habitat homeowner. The King’s Ridge development where she and Jessie will live is under construction and Shella is working on her sweat equity. The prospect of securing privacy and stability for herself and her daughter makes the hard work worth it.
“I want Jessie to know that I am capable of being independent and providing for our family without relying on others for help,” said Shella. “That alone will increase my self-worth and self-acceptance.”
For Shella, this includes the prospect of parenting Jessie on her own. And both Shella and Jessie look forward to having a place of their own to host friends and build stronger relationships.
“I’ve never had my own room,” said Jessie. “I’m looking forward to having my own space and having friends over.”
“It’s been fifteen years since I’ve had friends over to hang out,” agreed Shella. “Having that will be even more important as Jessie finishes high school and goes off to college.”
A new home will make room for lots of other things in Shella and Jessie’s lives: alone time, space for art and hobbies, quiet corners to finish up homework. Shella looks forward to making their house their own and decorating with items that represent her and her daughter.
Shella and Jessie are undoubtedly proud of each other. After teaching elementary school for years, Shella found her calling in construction and is now an Assistant Project Manager for a contractor in Denver. Jessie is also active and ambitious. She rides and shows horses, plays volleyball, and is starting to think about college.
These two hard-working women have already accomplished a lot - but they know that homeownership will bring them even further.
“I have the feeling that this experience will bring nothing but positive changes,” said Shella. “I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to partner with Flatirons Habitat for Humanity.”
Photo credit (bottom): Malory Toscano
