For the past seven years Luisa and her daughter, Kenia, have lived with her parents in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Escondido. Luisa and Kenia share a bedroom and Luisa’s grandmother, sister, and brother share the other bedroom. Luisa’s mother and father sleep on the couch in the living room. The house is so crowded that Luisa hangs her bathroom towels on her bed frame and has her and Kenia’s’s clothes piled on her desk. Luisa’s family stays up late watching TV and it is difficult for Luisa and Kenia to fall asleep. Luisa also does not feel very safe living in her neighborhood. There are a lot of gang members in the area and she doesn’t allow Kenia to play outside in the front of the house. The house is located on busy Mission Avenue in Escondido and Luisa has to back into traffic to get onto the road.
Luisa has worked as a mobile phlebotomist in North County for the past year. She has continually enrolled herself in programs and classes to advance in her career. Kenia started third grade this year.
Luisa longs to own a home that will allow her and Kenia to have their own space. She has come to all three orientations for the projects that Habitat had in Escondido, but didn’t apply because Habitat was looking for larger families for those projects. She knows that living in this two-bedroom home in Carlsbad will give Kenia space to study and the chance to succeed in life.
