“I will be able to thrive instead of just survive.”
Deana Scott is a Customer Service Representative III with the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners, where she has worked for the past 16 years. A lifelong Pasco County resident, Deana attended the University of Florida before returning home to build her career and raise her son, Zachary, who is now grown, married, and living in the panhandle. Outside of work, she finds joy in her cats and her growing collection of cacti, a passion sparked by a tiny plant her son gave her one Mother’s Day.
Deana’s path to homeownership has been long and hard. After a divorce in 2012, she lost the home she had grown up in and raised her son in. She traded in her car, sold nearly everything of value, and worked tirelessly to keep a roof over her family. She rented for years until the market rose beyond her reach in 2023, forcing her to move in with family members and rent a room just to stay afloat. “I tried to buy another home but kept hitting walls at every turn. After three years of trying, I gave up,” she shares. Then Habitat entered the picture, right through her workplace, where Pasco County BOCC introduced the organization and its new community of 20 homes just down the street from her office.
“I couldn’t believe it. Now I see what God was doing these past few years to get me to this point,” she recalls. For Deana, this home means peace of mind, security, and the freedom to finally look forward instead of over her shoulder. “No more worries about my future living situation. I will be able to thrive instead of just survive,” she says. She envisions her home as a house of God, a place of comfort, a haven for her cats, and the launching pad for the business she has been dreaming of. “I can’t wait to get started. I give God all of the glory.”
This home is sponsored by
