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Tim Hortons the musical
Habitat for Humanity handed over keys to an extensively renovated townhome to a single mother of six in Peachland on Monday.
Lisa is a mother of nine-year old autistic triplets with intellectual disabilities along with three adult children aged 31, 24 and 22. The family has been waiting for a home to call their own for years.
“For 20 years, I wanted my own Habitat for Humanity home, but never quite qualified. My income was too low or it was too high, or we moved and needed to wait out the two-year residency, and some of the places that we lived Habitat for Humanity only built one home every two years," Lisa said in a video posted by Habitat for Humanity Okanagan.
“In total, we’ve moved 35 times in 31 years,” she said as she started crying. "My oldest children never had a safe stable home of their own, so my determination to provide one for my youngest children became a priority.”
That's when Lisa decided to move back to her birth province, British Columbia, in 2015.
“I applied for the Peachland build with Habitat for Humanity Okanagan knowing I didn’t qualify as we just moved into this area. Two years later, in early 2017, I applied again – made it through the long application but was denied and was told I would never qualify.”
“A year later, an earthly angel called me, her name is Lorraine. I’ll never forget her saying, 'I found your file, tell me your story.' That phone call changed the course of our lives and gave me back my hope and dream.”
In 2018, Lisa made it past two selection committees, but still feared getting denied.
"I dreamed of what it would be like ... Oh my goodness, this is the build I originally applied for and here we are."
A 15-foot beam was installed in the living room ceiling to accommodate therapy swings for the children for at-home treatment. Twenty feet of fencing was also built to keep the children safe in the yard.
West K Women of Influence are hosting a Gala Nov. 15 to raise funds to pay for the renovations. If you’d like to buy a ticket, click here.
