“My children deserve a home of their own. It will be filled with love, laughter, and joy.”
Eliani Valdivia is a fighter. She works two jobs – one as a bookkeeper for a public accounting firm and one as a pharmacy technician for BayCare. This single mom of two – sons Grayson (7) and Aiden (1) – has been pulling double duty with her career for nearly eight years. When she and her boys get time together they are extremely creative with building blocks and Lego sets. They also get outside to enjoy nature whenever possible.
The Valdivia Family’s living situation is, in a nice way, cramped. Eliani and her sons live with her parents and brother. They share one room. The room gets extremely hot in the summer months and even with an installed air vent, the room just is not conducive for long periods, let alone trying to live in the space. Eliani refuses to let their little space limit her sons’ imaginations and passion to grow. “My boys are my whole world,” said Eliani. “I make it a point to get them out of the house even if it means a car ride just to watch the sunset in a beautiful spot.”
Eliani had heard about the Habitat homeownership program and believed it could be a fit for her family. But with so much not going her way, she figured she would just apply and be told ‘sorry, you’re not in.’ Eliani had been meeting with members of the Habitat Homeowner Services team throughout her application process. She knew she had things to work on and documents to fill out and sign. One day, she was asked to come to the office to sign a few more documents. It was Tuesday, June 27, 2023. Eliani was already tired from her busy work schedule. Eliani was asked if she had her ID and was ready to fill out some more paperwork when she was handed a folder and told to open it. Inside was an acceptance certificate welcoming Eliani and her boys to the Habitat homeownership program.
“I was overcome with so much joy and relief,” said Eliani. “I just couldn’t believe it and kept telling myself not to cry. But once I got in my car and started driving home the happy tears were flowing. I thanked God and shrieked ‘I did it!’”
Eliani has enjoyed her journey through the Habitat program filled with 36 homebuyer education classes and 350 sweat equity hours. “I have learned so much in this process,” said Eliani. “I can change doorknobs, install doors, I actually paint properly now and know how to clean my home and keep up with the maintenance of my home.”
Eliani encourage anyone looking to apply to the program to do it and never let doubt set in. “One of my favorite quotes comes from Walt Disney,” said Eliani. “He said ‘We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
