Jenni Hurlburt and her son, Alec, have been in their Habitat home since November of 2009.  Before they were accepted into the Habitat program they lived in a noisy apartment complex that Jenni described as “unhappy”, with loud neighbors that fought constantly and resulted in frequent visits from the police.

After four years of working toward qualifying for a Habitat home, Jenni found out that she was accepted into the program in July of 2008.  As a single mom, a part-time college student, and a full-time employee it became stressful at times while going through the Habitat program with the addition of her required sweat equity hours, but Jenni knew that it was a way for her and her son to purchase their own home. Jenni says that having a no-interest mortgage has relieved a lot of that stress and it has made it so she can afford her mortgage payment and still be able to have a little bit of extra money.

While working on her sweat equity, Jenni put together a computer for the ReStore, and did data entry for the ReStore and the Habitat office. She also worked on three different Habitat homes, including her own. While on the construction site, Jenni valued the volunteers that were helping to build her new home and she made sure to let them know that they were appreciated. Jenni’s son, now 7, loves his house. He enjoys having his own space and his own room. Jenni says that her favorite part about having her own home is the fact that she can paint it if she wants to, and that it is a peaceful place that is considered her own.