Home Purchase Success Stories

Millie
Millie is a 35 year old Salvadoran woman with three children: Juan who is 16, Angela Nina is 10, and David is 2 years old. Although there are many Salvadoran women in DC, Millie stands out with the consistent smile on her face, pleasant demeanor, determination to overcome, and her overall positive outlook on life. She gives unto others the little she has, including food, friendship, and excessive joy.

In 1994, Millie decided to leave El Salvador to seek a better life for her family. She left Juan, who was only 4 years old in El Salvador, to come work in the United States. She suffered a long journey using "a coyote", hitched rides to the US-Mexico border, and endured the often traumatic experience of a single female traveling alone across the border. She lived in California for some time, and had her second child prior to moving to DC. She survived, working primarily as a cook at several restaurants (evident in her wonderful cooking), but also cleaned houses and sold food on the side for extra income. After arriving to DC , Millie befriended a man whom she lived with for two years. They did not have a good relationship so she decided to leave him. With the help of Mary's Center and AYUDA, she moved into HOGARES.

During her stay with HOGARES, Millie got herself and her family into therapy and began setting goals for her family. She dreamed of buying a house after taking the financial management classes at the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), that taught her the importance of saving money, and seeking the right resources to buy a home. It took her 2 months to find a house, get it inspected, get approved for a home loan, and move in. Several people were involved with this process including her sister, and David's godfather who happens to be a realtor and gave her $2000 from his commission to buy the home.

Millie and her family now live in Virginia. The kids are very happy in their new house, new neighborhood, and new schools. Millie has set some new goals for herself including helping her children complete school, attending English classes, but also opening her own food-mobile. And with her strong spirit and conviction to succeed, we are confident that she will achieve her goals.

The Rodriguez Family
The Rodriguez family was referred to HOGARES because they were living in a one bedroom apartment that was not intended for human habitation-the property was condemned for structural inadequacies as well as for testing positive for lead paint, roach and rat infestation, and insufficient heat. They are a wonderful family, with very resilient and respectful children. Despite the harmonious appearance of this family, they have endured a great deal to be in DC today.

Both Maria (mom) and Pablo (dad) come from very poor farming families where they were encouraged to leave school and begin working in order to help the family survive economically. After they married, they began having many marital problems that reached its peak the day their eldest son at the time was killed by a car. Maria left to live alone with her next child until Pablo asked her for reunification. Since then, this family has worked hard to do whatever is necessary to move forward. They left El Salvador because they wanted to provide a better life for their family.

Since their arrival to HOGARES, the family has committed themselves to buying a house, often working two jobs each in order to save the money necessary to buy a home. They attended the classes at the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) and later filed for a home loan to buy a home in DC. They settled on a house in DC and are very excited and look forward to spreading their roots after several years of instability, and hardship.