“I am building because I want my kids to have stability and something that will finally be ours.”
Na’Eshia Shaw is a Unit Secretary at Bayfront Health and a single mother to three children. She describes herself as the anchor of her household and the driving force of her family. Her oldest child is her step-daughter, Je’Nyjah, who is 14 years old. She is followed by Na’Eshia’s daughter, Kha’Niya who is 9 years old. The two girls love to do hair, nails, and make TikToks. Their mother describes them as affectionate, loving, and curious. Jeramie, Na’Eshia’s son, is almost 5 years old and is the youngest in the family and can be described as the “mischievous little one”. He loves anything sports related, power rangers, and ninja turtles.
The family’s current living situation is challenging due to the lack of safety. They live in an apartment complex that is open to the community and struggles with the up-keep of maintenance. “There is no safe place for kids to play,” Na’Eshia says. When she received the news that she was accepted into the Habitat Homeownership program, she says that she felt happy and nervous at the same time. “I couldn’t do anything but cry and thank God for answering our prayers. I finally felt hope that I would one day have a permanent forever home for myself and children. I was nervous because I’ve never owned a home before nor knew anything about owning a home.”
“I’m looking forward to finally being stable. Knowing that my blood sweat and tears have went into something meaningful.” Na’Eshia is very excited to be able to decorate her own home however she likes. “We will be able to decorate for the holidays instead of wishing we could do it because there isn’t enough space in our apartment currently. In our complex you cant really decorate much without being fined. I’ll finally be able to do it in our own home.” She is also excited that her children will have a safe space to run outside and play.
So far, Na’Eshia has enjoyed earning sweat equity in the Habitat ReStores. “I love working in the ReStore because you get to meet different people that are in the program who too are working on their home.” Our ReStores are nonprofit retail centers where new and gently used building materials and home furnishings are sold at discounted prices. The ReStores are our solution for turning these donations, from generous and environmentally concerned individuals and businesses, into money to build homes for families, just like the Shaws. For more information about our ReStores, please visit the ReStore Page on our website.
“With the help of this program, I’ve learned to be more patient and humbling. They teach you the importance of being a homeowner and what to expect, most importantly being more financial stabilized which was one of the hardest things I had to adjust to, but one of the things I needed to learn most.”
This home is sponsored by:
The Shaw Family home was dedicated on December 22nd, 2022.
