Homeowner Bios
August 9, 2021

Homeowner Bio: The Jones Family

“I want to give my family a HOME not just a house, a solid foundation!”

Chantel Jones is a bus driver for Pinellas County School Board Transportation Services who is on her journey towards a forever home for her and her three children. She is a hard working, dedicated, and trustworthy single mother to Tareonna (age 17), Martravion (age 13), and Marlaysia (age 8). “I am a very strong woman and a great mom, I live for my three children,” Chantel says. Tareonna loves to do hair, nails, and dance. Martravion enjoys playing video games and football. Marlaysia is a mommy’s girl and likes to dance, watch movies, and spend time with her grandma. Chantel tells us that “Family is everything to me and I instill that into my children as well!”

Two and a half years ago, the Jones Family was renting a house and the roof unexpectedly collapsed on them. They had to make a sudden move to the apartment that they live in now, where they continue to struggle. Rent is continuing to increase, drugs are becoming a problem in the area, neighbors are unruly, and visitors do not have anywhere to park. In addition, Chantel’s kids love to play outside but she does not feel safe letting them play on their own with how fast cars are speeding through the area. Her car has also been broken into twice already and currently has plumbing issues.

Receiving the news that the family was accepted into the Habitat program left Chantel and her children feeling overjoyed with excitement. They were so emotional and thankful that the kids kept repeating “Yes! We are getting a forever home!”. After moving into their new house, Chantel says that she will feel al lot more comfortable knowing that she and her kids have a safe, stable, and affordable home. She is most looking forward to the comfort and stability that comes with homeownership. “Just to finally have a peace of mind knowing I have provided great leadership and ownership with the assistance of a wonderful team of people who go to great lengths to see my family and myself have a better and an affordable life worry free will be worth it.”

Our affiliate is making a further commitment and investment advocating for the advancement of affordable homeownership. If you are interested in learning how our organization is advocating for affordable homes and how to get involved, please check out our Advocate Page on our website.

“When I applied for a Habitat home I was stepping out on faith! I was nervous and had some doubts. But I never lost faith! Having family and friends telling me “You got this, claim it is yours, don’t give up”…those words of encouragement made me push harder!”

This home is sponsored by:

Jerry & Mary Miller

The Jones Family home was dedicated on June 24th, 2022.