Prior to owning her Habitat home, Lorena was living in an apartment with her
three children. It was overcrowded, chaotic and her children could not play inside without
complaints from neighbors. She had applied for Habitat Vail Valley homeownership several
times and had yet to be accepted. She had learned from her mother, immigrant, single mother
of seven children with multiple jobs never to give up – that perseverance and hard work would
someday pay off. She witnessed the hardships that her mother experienced and learned the
importance of hard work and determination.
These lessons have proven to be the best lessons for Lorena to learn as a young girl; she also
has had her fair share of challenges. Watching her mother struggle lit a fire in Lorena, who
became determined to set herself on a different path, yearning for stability and opportunity.
With no high school diploma, and no safe housing, Lorena often felt hopeless but would revert
to the skills learned from her own mother of perseverance and grit. While disappointed each
time she was not accepted for homeownership, she didn’t let it stop her from applying again
and again. She was finally accepted. “It was truly a miracle for us,” she says.
After purchasing her Habitat home, she moved from chaos into her Habitat home, and paying
an interest-free affordable mortgage that is no more than 30% of her annual pay, finally
allowed for opportunity. Lorena states, “Habitat holds a special place in my family’s hearts.
When we moved into our new home, it marked the blissful realization of struggle, hard work,
community support and grit. Habitat for Humanity gave my family something meaningful:
stability, safety and hope.” Lorena was finally able to complete her studies, including her
associates, and bachelor’s degree in business administration at Colorado Mountain College in
the spring of 2024. Through everything, she never gave up. “It has been incredibly hard for me
to accomplish my educational goals being a mom. But it is what I have been working so hard
for, both for me and my kids. It has been a long journey.”
This journey is only just the beginning for Lorena: her oldest daughter, Daisy, has earned a full
ride scholarship at Boston College and is studying criminal justice. The skills of perseverance
and grit will continue on in her three children as they chart their future path. “I am a first-
generation student, none of my brothers or sisters went to college. And now my kids will be
second generation. I have worked so hard and that feels good. Having a safe affordable home
provided me with opportunities that otherwise would not have been possible.”