Home is the Key to Stability for Carlos and his Family

Neryann and Javier had long dreamed of someday having a stable place where their kids could make memories and relish their childhoods. They now have that place.

“I think having a house has helped them a lot — having space to do their homework and having stability,” Neryann says. “They like the kitchen, the living room, all of it. We all love it.”

After moving from Puerto Rico a decade ago, Neryann and her family uprooted four times before becoming Habitat for Humanity Pinellas County homeowners, in Florida. At their last rental, she and her husband, Javier, slept in a bedroom that had once been a garage. It had no heat, so the couple slept in the living room when the weather turned cold.

“I remember when we first got to our lot,” Neryann says. Her children each planted themselves in a different corner of their future house. “They were just so happy to know that we were building our home, that we were a part of it,” she says.

The children, Yandell, Janerys and Jarelys, and Carlos, are even happier now that they have moved into their new house. And so is Neryann. It’s hard to keep such a busy house spick-and-span, she says, but she keeps trying. “I clean all the time. I want to keep it like new.”

“We have so many dreams, and one of them is having not only a house where our kids will build experiences, but a place where our grandkids will come visit someday. Our dream is a house that is a home.”