Deaf Family Finds Hope at Habitat- The Jackson’s Story

On August 4th, my husband and I will have enjoyed 20 years of marriage together. We are both deaf people who use American Sign Language. We have been living in Gainesville throughout our marriage. We have two beautiful daughters, Jazmyne, who just graduated Gainesville High, and our younger daughter, Kenya, who is still in high school.
Our financial life is a great source of hardship. The rent in our home is high and is difficult to pay with our wages. Our credit score wasn’t high enough to qualify when we put our hope on a traditional home loan. I have social security disability and I work part time job for the past 13 years at Marshalls.
Two years ago, I visited Habitat for Humanity and told them of my hope for housing and the barriers to my dream. They told me I was not a candidate because of my financial situation at the time. They told me make some changes and come back. I fought hard to fix my financial problems. Finally, I paid off my credit card debt and walked back into the ReStore to talk again. Habitat for Humanity approved my family for a new home! I was so grateful to learn that I was approved. I signed my partnership agreement and am very excited to begin working my sweat equity hours.
Thank you Jesus for guiding my family while we worked out our housing plan. The Lord’s guidance and our many prayers carried us to this important step in our life. Our dream home is coming in the future. We feel so very blessed.

-Coneshia Jackson, Habitat Homebuyer