Sandy Johnson and her 8-year-old daughter currently live in an outdated apartment building in South Moorhead. There’s black mold and many updates need to be done to the building. Until recently, the entry to the building was not secure and anyone could walk in and up the stairs. The apartment isn’t the safe and comfortable home Sandy envisioned her daughter growing up in. They make do, but can’t wait for the safety their new home will provide.
Sandy first heard about Habitat in 2015 when her niece was chosen to partner with Douglas County Habitat. She spoke highly of the process and encouraged Sandy to turn in an application. Sandy decided to apply in July of 2017 but did not have high expectations, “I didn’t think it was for me.”
“The call from Jackie at Habitat came at the perfect time.” Sandy’s daughter had been in the hospital with a blood infection — a time that was scary, difficult, and stressful for the family. A breath of relief, dreams of family celebrations, and the memories that Sandy and her daughter would be making in their very own home quickly set in. Her daughter’s first question was “will you build me a treehouse?” She can’t wait to begin working on her house (and eventually a treehouse!)
Sandy has been very involved in the whole process, especially the sweat-equity requirement for all Habitat homeowners and believes it makes the experience more meaningful. “I’ll love my home even more because I got to help build it with my own hands.”
Since being chosen, Sandy has met multiple people who have partnered with Habitat, “once I found one person who’d been blessed, I found more and more who had been through this process or know someone who has.”
Sandy and her daughter are very thankful for being chosen to partner with Habitat, and would like to thank everyone for their time, donations, and support. They look forward to staying connected with Habitat and giving back to the community and future families because Habitat helps transform families like hers.
