“My house will be my fort and I know that at the end it will be the best, happiest, safest and most loving place that my children need and I would not want to have it any other way.”
Yuliet Inguanzo is a single mother who works as a Medical Records Coordinator at Live Better Medical Center and also drives for Uber on the side. She immigrated to America from Cuba and soon hopes to achieve the American Dream of homeownership with Habitat. Her children, Anais (age 9) and Yan (age 12), are anxiously awaiting the day that they get to step foot in their brand new Habitat Home. Anais loved to paint and dance. Her dream is to be on Dancing with the Stars one day. Yan enjoys playing baseball and collecting plushies (especially Sonic ones!). As a family, they are very close with one another and consider themselves to be outgoing. “I like my kids to be independent,” Yuliet tells us. “So I try to give them the tools to succeed in the future to make sure that when I’m not around they can flourish and not depend on anyone.”
“Ever since I came to this country as an immigrant my dream was always to have a home on my own, but hardships have come in the way of that.” Like many other families in our community, Yuliet and her family have struggled to find a safe and affordable space to live within the Pinellas and West Pasco area. The family is currently struggling with their current landlord who cares more about money than providing a safe space to live. “I have had to pay thousands of dollars and had to ask for many loans to pay for a new A/C unit, a new window glass that the neighbor kid broke at my daughters window, new cameras inside and outside of my home to feel safe, and for all the fixtures in the home.” These maintenance issues have placed a financial burden on Yuliet and her family. She says “I hope that with Habitat For Humanity I will no longer not have food on my table and go to bed hungry, just because we need to pay for a roof and a warm place to come to.” In their new forever home, Yuliet, Anais, and Yan will all have a safe, warm, and comfortable home to grow and thrive in for many years to come.
When Yuliet first learned that she was accepted into the Habitat program, she was full of emotions. “My head was rushing with happiness and thinking of all the good things that I was going to have, like the cozy home I always wanted for me and my kids or to build a tree house for them. I am going to have the original American Dream, like my dad always said.”
For anyone thinking about applying for the Habitat program, Yuliet offers this advice: “I would say just to focus on your dream and what made you applied in the first place. It’s not just about having a home. It is about becoming a new person with a new life and a whole new beginning for you and your family and it will be the best feeling ever afterwards.” For more information on how to apply for the Habitat program, please visit out Apply Page on our website.
“I get to work on my home and actually see and feel what an affordable home will be for my family. I am building to show all the people that did not believe in me that when I have a greater purpose I can make anything happen.”
This home is sponsored by
The Inguanzo Family home was dedicated on March 27th, 2023.
