Rosa Reyna says that volunteering with Habitat has helped her to come out of her shell, and to understand that there isn’t such a thing as a small collaboration.
Rosa has been a volunteer for Habitat Tucson’s Selection Committee since 2019, and loves her role helping find the newest Habitat families to join the homeownership program.
The Selection Committee supports Habitat’s mission to create strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. Selection Committee members assist with a crucial step of the process–determining our next cohort of Prospective Homeowners who will participate in Habitat’s Homeownership Program.
“I came to the realization that even the littlest thing that we can do to help somebody is making a difference in people’s lives,” Reyna said.
Habitat Tucson’s Selection Committee is very important because they are the ones who decide which families get a hand up to become the newest Habitat homeowners. It isn’t always easy, Reyna knows that so many families in Tucson are in need of safe, stable shelter, and her heart goes out to all of them.
“I’m very much about family and the togetherness,” said Reyna, who comes from a large family. “I want children to have stability. I want children to have a stable place where they don’t have to go from apartment to apartment–I just don’t think it’s good for them. I want them to have a place that they can call home.”
Being on the selection committee requires strong communication skills and empathy for the community. Reyna states that to be part of the Selection Committee, “You have to learn to curve your biases. You have to be as open-minded as possible.”
Reyna speaks about unconscious bias and how important it is for volunteers to be aware of it. “You have to be aware of yourself, who you are,” said Reyna.
Habitat for Humanity Tucson is an equal opportunity housing provider and complies with federal local regulations regarding housing discrimination. We consider applicants without regard to race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, age, physical ability, religion, marital or family status, or because all or part of an applicant’s income is derived from public assistance programs.
