“If you dedicate yourself to the process, by the time you move into your own home, you will become someone that you didn’t know that you can be. You will be a lot smarter, stronger, and appreciative.”
Young Dexter and Stacey met while studying together at St.Petersburg Junior College. The two started off as best friends and later got married in the year 2009. Two years later, Dexter decided he was going to join the Army. One month after Dexter left for basic training, Stacey gave birth to her first born son, Jorden. They soon packed up everything and moved to their first military post. In 2014, Dexter and Stacey’s second son, Matthew, was born. Since then, the family has moved from city to city and from house to house. Today, 10-year-old Jorden enjoys drawing, reading, and climbing trees. He is also learning how to code using games like Minecraft and Roblox. He also loves building with and playing on his tablet. Matthew is now 7-years-old and loves watching cooking shows on Netflix. Whenever he can help, he loves being the kitchen cooking or outside in the yard with his dad. He also loves playing outside at the park. He also loves spending time with his big bro-bro Jorden playing on their tablets together. Both boys love doing research and learning new things. They are both very curious about the world around them.
In January of 2021, Dexter retired from the military after being medically discharged with an honorable discharge. Around the same time, Stacey began struggling with medical issues. She had surgery in May of 2021 to have a pain pump inserted into her stomach and spinal cord to help with chronic pain she has been suffering with for the last 20 years. After leaving the military life, the family of four needed somewhere to live.
After almost 10 years of military service, the family had only 10 days until their active service status expired and to leave their current base, as were a few of their neighbors who were also in the military. “We were very overwhelmed and scared, to say the least,” Stacey explains. Unlike some families who had no place to go, the Adams were blessed to have two places to go: Dexter’s parent’s home or Stacey’s mother’s home. The family chose to live with Stacey’s mother. “My boys get to share my old bedroom from when I was a child,” Stacey shares with us. “I was about their age when we moved into this house about 33 years ago. My mother lives in a historic district. Our family home is almost 92 years old. The boys are having fun finding things from my childhood. For me, it’s like walking down memory lane every time they find something new in my old bedroom.”
After learning about their acceptance into the Habitat for Humanity program, the first thing the family did was thank God for the opportunity. “We felt very blessed to be chosen as a family. We were just really excited to know that we could have a house to raise our boys in. We knew there was going to be a lot of work ahead of us order to get the house. We are looking forward to learning as much as can through the classes.” In their new home, the family is excited to host barbeques and spending family time outside. Dexter and Stacey are excited that their boys will finally have their own bedrooms.
Volunteers are what make Habitat’s mission possible for family’s in our community. There are many opportunities to get involved with the organization such as working on a build site, helping out in the ReStore, and assisting with many of our fundraising events. The Adams Family says “Volunteering is a great opportunity to help other people with their dream of homeownership. As well as learn new skills and meet new people. After the last year of being isolated in our own homes, this is a great way to give back and enjoy seeing the joy in people’s eyes – over their mask!” To learn more about the volunteer opportunities available at our affiliate, please visit our Volunteer Page on our website.
“We want stability for our family. To have something to call our own. To be an example for our kids of what hard work and dedication can give you.”
The Adams Family home was dedicated on December 13th, 2022.
