Jessica’s Story- House #67

My name is Jessica and we are the Doughtys. I have two amazing teenage daughters. I have been a single mom for most of their lives.
The financial struggle of living in a two-bedroom apartment with high rent has burdened me for years. I work as a Process Safety Manager at Fieldale where I make sure our paperwork and training documents are in compliance with state and federal guidelines, however, I’ve had to take side jobs and work extra hours at my regular job just to make ends meet. The worst part about having to work overtime is it takes precious time away from my children. That has always been difficult for me, but I knew I didn’t have a choice because bills keep coming no matter what.
Even with my best efforts to secure a nice place for my girls, we are living in an apartment where things keep breaking because it is all outdated. My complaints go unanswered for weeks and even months by management. It is an ongoing struggle.
I have always wanted my own home, but being a single mom in a one-income household, I always thought homeownership was out of reach for me. Then one day at work I saw a flyer about Habitat for Humanity. They were taking applications for their affordable homeownership program for limited income families. I thought it was a long shot, but I applied anyway thinking it could be my only shot at home ownership.
After turning in my application and completing the interview, I was so grateful and ecstatic to learn that I was approved! Finally, I had a way out of the broken down apartment and was on a path to build a safe place for my girls. I signed my partnership agreement and have enjoyed working my sweat equity hours on the build and in the ReStore. Everyone with Habitat has been extremely nice. My girls and I couldn’t be more excited to build our very own home. I look forward to working with Habitat for many years. We feel so very blessed!!

This home is being generously funded by Fieldale Farms Corporation, Springer Mountain Farms, and Publix Charities.