Mother’s Day made special by Habitat for Humanity home for single mother

Single mother of 2, Joy Johnson, got a Mother’s Day gift dedicated by Habitat for Humanity that changed her family’s life.

Johnson, a full-time healthcare worker, couldn’t find an affordable home to raise her family, until now.

“I’m excited. I’m just so glad to see my kids happy and just ready to move in,” Johnson says. “I don’t think it’s really gonna hit me until I wake up and I’m here, I look around, I have the space that I need.”

She spent the last few months working and fulfilling the requirements to receive an affordable mortgage through Habitat for Humanity. Saturday morning she gathered with friends, family, and volunteers for her home dedication.

Johnson put in the three-hundred ‘sweat equity’ hours required to move into the new home. A moment that Joyce Mays, Johnson’s mother, was very proud of her daughter.

“I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Joyce Mays says. “As a young 30-year-old, single parent with two kids, and to put in not only the hours for her house but work on her regular day job every day did not miss a day.”

“It was a lot of work, but it was well worth it,” Johnson says. “I just want any young mother to know, Habitat is the way, so it’s definitely worth it.”

Johnson’s home is located just a block away from the street named after her grandmother, Duera Mae Everett. Everett was one of the founding members of Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry counties.

“My mother, Duera Mae, encouraged me to apply for Habitat homes, Mays says. “She worked for Habitat.”

“She’s not here now, but I know this is what she would want. And I know that she’s happy,” Johnson says.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization. Johnson’s home was built through Habitat’s annual women build campaign. Which encourages women in the effort to provide safe and decent homes for families in need.

Now, Johnson moves on to the future. Good feelings, a new home, and as she said, “I feel safe out here. I’m happy.”

You can apply to Habitat’s Affordable Housing Program on the Habitat for Humanity website.