Events

Mary Catherine’s life changed forever after a rare flesh-eating bacteria infected her nearly 20 years ago. She had 24 surgeries in a matter of weeks, and both legs had to be amputated to ensure she survived. Afterwards, she wasn’t sure she would ever live in an accessible home–until Habitat came along.

“I have learned what community can do,” Mary Catherine says. “When community works together, I am blown away. Whether it’s just two people or all of Habitat, it’s really nice when people willingly help each other in a little community.”

When Mark Thorsrud and Melissa Oliver signed up for their Residential Architecture courses at Pima Community College, they didn’t know they’d be designing a home for Habitat for Humanity. But that’s exactly what happened.

When asked what strength means to Mena, she said, “Strength comes from the union of the family. From being together and relying on each other. We’ve come a long way together. That’s where our strength comes from. Helping each other no matter what.”

Home means everything to Lidya. Owning one has been the goal for her for as long as she can remember. She says that her heart skips a beat just thinking about it.

A note of gratitude from a Habitat Tucson homebuyer: My journey has almost come to an end. I have five weeks left, and it’s been a long and hard one for me, but it’s definitely been well worth it. I love knowing that my youngest child will actually have a place to call home, and […]

Join us at Habitat Tucson on December 8 for the Gingerbread Build and celebrate the holidays with friends and family, while helping make the dream of an affordable home a reality for working, lower income families.

Nancy first joined the Habitat team 16 years ago. What started out very Mom-and-Pop developed into a thriving community of passionate people – all devoted to the mission that everyone deserves a decent place to live, and everyone can do something to help make that possible for another family.

“That’s all the special things—the workers, the homeowners, the volunteers, the donors—and the mission is on top. That’s what we always come back to,” she says. “That’s why we’re here.”

As our poet laurate, TC is excited about integrating poetry into our community, bringing poetry to other acts of service – because for TC, poetry is a doorway into social justice. “Anytime we encounter something that stretches our understanding of what is possible, that to me feels social justice,” s/he explains. “It feels like potential for change, growth, all of these radical ways of living. And—and and and! I think if it stops at the page, it’s missed a whole deeply, deeply important step in changing the world.”

Habitat Tucson is pleased to announce that it has been certified by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, as a Service Enterprise!

In 2013, when Ezequiel and Salome were just 7 and 8 years old, their father abandoned the family. He cut Manuela off from their bank accounts, sabotaged her car, and didn’t pay rent or child support. “After three months we had to move out of our home,” Manuela says. “And at the time Ezequiel’s asthma was out of control – so we were at the doctor quite often, every two weeks.”

But Manuela was determined to care for her family.

Free and open to the public, upcoming community education classes on topics including education, healthy living, career planning, neighborhood safety, and more!

Joseph and Pricilla have wanted to own a home for a very long time. They want their four children to know they have a safe and stable place to come back to, with the room to grow independent and self-reliant.

“We had looked into buying a house,” said Pricilla. “We just couldn’t do it on our own.”

When they think about what their new home will be like, Adan and Guadalupe picture a completely different life. “Stability, comfort, safety – everything’s going to be better,” Guadalupe says. “Home is where the family is – it’s love. Just being happy together. Just being able to rest and know that everyone you love is there.”

“It goes back to our mission statement,” Judy says. “Decent. Affordable. Decent means the roof is not leaking, the toilet is flushing. There are so many people who need some help, and it’s about knowing when we can say yes.”

In the past year, thanks to generous donations from individuals and community businesses, the HabiStore was able to divert almost 600 tons of building materials, appliances, new and gently used furniture and home accessories from the local landfill. That’s more than double the annual amount the HabiStore typically saves from the landfill!

That’s always been Pete’s favorite part about Habitat – the humanity part. “We treat people – no matter who they are, no matter where they come from, no matter what their story – as equals.”

Each Habitat neighborhood is an extension of that humanity. And it’s something Pete notices, when speaking with homeowners – they absolutely love their neighbors. “They’re not talking about just their house—they’re talking about the people around them. They’re talking about the community,” says Pete. “And I think that’s much more powerful than four walls.”

Both originally from Sinaloa in Mexico, they’re looking forward to a better life for their family. “We experienced violence in Culiacán and we didn’t want that for our children,” says Ana Karina. “We are looking for better opportunities for ourselves and for our children.”

Habitat Stores are home improvement stores that accept small and large donations of new or gently used furniture, appliances, housewares, building materials and more. Proceeds from the sales of these items help Habitat’s work in your community and around the world.