April H. remembers looking at her house before its complete remodel and couldn’t imagine how it would ever be accessible for her family. April’s two sons, Marschae and DaShaun, have Cerebral Palsy, with DaShaun being the most impacted and using a wheelchair for mobility. Habitat staff and volunteers took down walls, converted the garage into a bedroom with an en suite bathroom, with a built-in ceiling lift to hoist DaShaun from his bed into his wheelchair. They widened the doorway, kitchen, and hallways so that the entire house would be wheelchair accessible. After the remodel was finished in the fall of 2013, for the first time in DaShaun’s life, he was able to move throughout his entire home by himself.
Previously, April, her three children, and their father lived together in a house for 13 years. After they separated and her daughter Brittany, who was accepted to the University of Washington, moved out, it was just April and the twins remaining at home. She couldn’t afford to keep the house, so she and the boys moved into an apartment. It didn’t have a walk-in shower like the apartment that she had originally been shown, so she had to lift DaShaun out of his wheelchair and into a shower chair in the bathtub. This was difficult for them both. But a month later she heard back from Habitat about her application and a home that Habitat had purchased for resale, and then things moved quickly after that.
When April first moved in, she drove a school bus for the Federal Way School District, then she worked at Head Start. Now she works at a non-profit early intervention child development program. She feels that Head Start’s programs would have been helpful when her boys were young. Instead, she had to drive to Kent for their special care.
For April, the difference between owning and renting, other than the affordability, has been, “the structure of the house, its accessibility for DaShaun. I have friends in the neighborhood; we do a two-mile walk together. It is familiar to me; it feels safe.”
April has always been involved in the Federal Way community, through work, church, kids’ sports, schools, and service agencies so that didn’t change when she was selected for her new home. The entire community pitched in to volunteer and help build, from church members to fellow Federal Way bus drivers.
She gratefully reflects, “I would see somebody who volunteered on my house at the store. I am friends with a lady at church whose husband put in the shower, before we even knew who each other was. A lot of my bus driver friends were here. All these people!”
From the beginning, homeownership positively impacted the boys’ education. They attended Decatur High School, a nearby neighborhood school that offered better programs and inclusive classes, which DaShaun particularly enjoyed. April adds, “Being stable and having a home allowed them to attend the same school consistently, which was beneficial.”
April is now the only one living in the home, where she has a small office adjacent to the bedroom that serves as her home office. The boys, now in their late twenties, are both thriving young adults who live together. April is only 20 minutes away, and she now has peace of mind knowing that her sons are in a home that meets all their needs: A safe, welcoming, and well-maintained space where they can grow, pursue their goals, and support each other.
For April, it is deeply comforting to see them settled in a place that provides stability, security, and independence, knowing that the home she helped provide continues to nurture them and their future. She explains her plans, “The goal is to pay this house off and then DaShaun is going to move in here. Hopefully with a wonderful caregiver or somebody, a housemate or his brother possibly.”
She would like to build a carport in the front for the van so transferring DaShaun would not put him outside in the elements. When he has the house, she plans to hire someone to help with the yardwork because she would hate to see it become neglected.
The future is easier to imagine now that her children have all graduated high school and established their careers and lives. Her forever home will remain in the family and continue to provide much-needed stability for her children. When she first moved in, April shared a sentiment that holds true today: “This is a bright beginning for us, and we see no darkness ahead.”