“Habitat for Humanity is a prayer come true in a desperate time of need.”

Sophal Lvea is a single mother of two who works for EnerSys, a battery manufacturing company. She was born in Thailand and moved to America in 1989. Today, she takes care of her two children, Jasmine (age 14) and Devin (age 15), and her mother, Lonn, after losing her father three years ago to cancer. Jasmine is very artsy and loves to draw, paint, and watch anime. Devin is shy but loves to play video games and is very competitive. Sophal does whatever she can to support her family and hopes to give her daughter a stable home for when she starts high school in the fall.

The Lvea Family shares a two bedroom apartment and it causes a lot of problems with space. Sophal and Jasmine have to share a bedroom while her mother takes the other. Since moving to Florida in 2017, the Lvea’s have already moved three times due to increasing rent prices. “I was thinking about moving again because I don’t know how I would afford this rent,” Sophal says. “Thank God that we got accepted to be a Habitat Homeowners! This made my decision much easier.”

After receiving the news that the family was accepted into the Habitat program, Sophal said that she was so happy that she cried! “Tears of joy! I can’t believe it. First thing that came to my mind was that my family and my kids will have a brighter future due to a stable home.” She imagines her future in her new home to be happier and less stressful. Her mother is looking forward to gardening in their new big yard. Everyone is looking forward to big family gatherings and having their own bedrooms.

Sophal has already begun to take classes to start earning her sweat equity hours. She is excited to start volunteering on the construction sites and to do more hands-on work. “I know from experience that helping others makes my soul happy. Helping people to achieve their dream is priceless and with this program they will learn a lot of new skills that will help them save a lot of money in the future.” If you are interested in volunteer opportunities that will make your soul happy as well, check out our Volunteer Page for more information on how to get involved with our organization.

“Home is where family creates happy memories with the feeling of warmth and comfort.”

This home is sponsored by:

The Lvea Family Home was dedicated on April 19th, 2022.