“The security and peace of owning my own home will be empowering.”

Albenia Matthews is a Treatment Coordinator at Clearwater Dental Associates and a single mother to her two children, Jayden and Jadaliese. The family of three is on their journey towards homeownership with Habitat. Albenia and her children love to spend time together and creating memories. Jayden, Albenia’s oldest child, is 14-years-old and he enjoys playing on his Xbox, going to the gym, and editing videos on his phone.  Jadaliese is 10-years-old and loves art and creating things. “She loves to paint canvases and had an idea to sell her artwork,” her mother tells us. “She has since invested some of her earnings into more supplies and had a couple more art sales. She loves gymnastics and animals – especially dogs.”

Albenia applied to the Habitat program in hopes that she could provide a larger and more comfortable space for herself and her children. “We currently live in a two bedroom apartment which is smaller and does not allow for everyone to have their own individual space,” she explains. “It’s an older apartment so maintenance issues happen often.” On top of this, the families’ rent has also increased significantly in the past year, making it difficult to afford. The Matthews Family was accepted into the program in October of 2022 and Albenia’s first thought was ‘gratitude’. “This program is going to change our lives for the better and give my family stability.”

In their new forever home, Albenia is looking forward to stability. “I am looking forward to my kids having their own space to continue growing into and making it their own.” Volunteers are at the heart of our mission and we would not be able to provide safe and stable forever homes for families like the Matthews without them. Albenia offers this advice to anyone who is considering volunteering for Habitat: “Don’t think about it just do it! Someone out there appreciates it more than you’ll ever know.” For more information on how to volunteer on our build sites, in our ReStores, or at our events, please visit our Volunteer Page on our website.

“Knowing that this is my families’ forever home and stable place to build memories will remove worry and fear of the yearly stress of having to resign a lease or find a new place to live.”

This home is sponsored by

The Matthews Family home was dedicated on April 20th, 2023.