‘New beginning:’ Single mother attains homeownership through Habitat for Humanity

In 2015, Keetonia Wilson fell at her son’s football game in Miami and broke her arm. She had reconstructive surgery, but it didn’t go well and she ended up with major nerve damage and was diagnosed with chronic pain syndrome.

At the same time, Wilson, 39, and her family couldn’t keep up with Miami’s rising rent prices, so they relocated to Orlando. Wilson and her children stayed with family for awhile before moving into their own apartment in the Goldenrod area.

Wilson has been unable to work since her fall and has remained on a fixed income, living off disability. In February 2022, her landlord told her something that she still has trouble contemplating: Rent would be going up from $1,300 a month to over $2,000 — something millions of Floridian’s and Americans elsewhere have faced amid a rental crisis. In Orlando, the problem’s fueled homelessness in the city as people are evicted and face the upward struggle of looking for a place to live in one of the nation’s most competitive rental markets.

“It knocked me off my feet… forced me out of my home,” Wilson said. With no other options, she and her children moved in with her brother in the Lake Alfred area in Polk County.

“I thought it was a joke at first… but it wasn’t,” Wilson said about the sudden rent hike. On top of this, her health struggles persisted. She was suffering from blood clots and had to have major surgery on her thyroid. “I was defeated,” she said.

Wilson heard about Habitat for Humanity and in a fit of desperation she looked up the organization online. She wasn’t surprised that she qualified but she was when a month later she was accepted.

“We were living in an apartment and Momma said ‘We might get a house’ and I was like ‘Oh, does that mean I can paint my room finally?'” said Wilson’s 14-year-old daughter Karizma Petion.

On a recent Saturday morning, Wilson and her three children, as well as her siblings, parents and extended family, all huddled together, posing for group pictures in front of Wilson’s new home: a four-bedroom, two bathroom house on a quiet street in South Apopka.

Standing in the front door, looking out over the fresh lawn and the spotless driveway, Wilson got choked up. “I am so thankful for this,” she said.

The plot of land that the home sits on was donated to Habitat for Humanity Seminole-Apopka along with four others by Orange County.

Habitat selects homeowners based on the applicant’s level of need and their ability to repay a mortgage through an affordable payment plan. The nonprofit has been able to get Central Floridians in the program a $1,000 mortgage payment for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home, which is typically around $2,500 in Apopka, according to Habitat for Humanity Seminole-Apopka spokesperson Muffet Robinson.

Robinson said houses are sold to home buyers for the appraised price. This is possible because the nonprofit uses grant money among other sources to keep the prices of homes down to levels affordable for approved applicants.

In the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2022, Habitat Seminole-Apopka closed 16 homes for families who would not otherwise be able to buy a home.

“It takes a village for this to happen,” said Idalia Nunez, the program director of the nonprofit, thanking volunteers and local officials at the ceremony.

Nunez said Wilson broke the record for the fastest completion of the 200-hour program required to purchase a Habitat home. During program, which took Wilson 30 days to finish, she studied in courses on finances, home maintenance and civic engagement.

Helping Wilson were her two teenage children, whom she had asked to “hit the books” and get straight A’s. They did exactly that and subsequently points went toward Wilson’s hours, cutting down the time it took to close the home.

Wilson’s son, Mamay Petion Jr., 15, said he’s most excited to decorate his room with his favorite colors: red, black and white. He pointed to areas around the empty room, describing where he’s going to set up his video games and what wall he will paint black so he can draw on it with chalk (Wilson laughed and shook her head when she was told of her son’s plans for his bedroom).

“It’s amazing having my own room,” he said, smiling wide. “But if my sister comes in my room and she wants to chill out with me, she can write on the walls and stuff…”

Both teens will be attending Apopka High School; they are working toward bright future scholarships.

A short time after the ribbon cutting ceremony, Wilson looked up from the front lawn at the house. It was full of friends and family and Habitat volunteers who were walking through rooms, opening closets, checking faucets and talking in small groups. There was catered food and some people were passing out plates and silverware in the dining room.

“I’m most proud to give my kids more,” Wilson said.

“To have our own space that we can personalize… is so special,” she continued. “My kids have never had a yard where they can go and just play in and enjoy the sun. This… is going to be a great new beginning.”

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