{"id":26791,"date":"2021-04-05T22:26:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T05:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/?p=26791"},"modified":"2021-05-17T21:43:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T04:43:48","slug":"rebuilding-our-life-aheds-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/rebuilding-our-life-aheds-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebuilding Our Life: Ahed\u2019s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by<\/em> Monicia Warner,<\/em> <\/em>V<\/em>olunteer <\/em>S<\/em>toryteller<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Owning a home has been a top priority for Ahed and her husband since immigrating to the United States in 2016. They\u2019ve made many friends and have found a sense of community while living in Portland, but there\u2019s always been one missing piece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was the big thing in our life,\u201d says Ahed. \u201cWe want to have our own home. We don\u2019t want to waste our money on rent.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally from Syria, Ahed and her family immigrated to Jordan after their home was destroyed in the war. The transition brought about a lot of uncertainty; opportunities for work in Jordan were few and Ahed wasn\u2019t sure what this would mean for their family long-term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe economy for the country is not so big,\u201d says Ahed. \u201cBecause\u2026it was full of refugees, the opportunities to have work there was small. It was difficult and we were looking for another country so we can work and make our lives better for us and for the children.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within three years, Ahed and her family would be on their way to Portland to build a new life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That new life included owning a home. With two school-age children, a toddler, and both Ahed and her husband busy with college and work, the traditional and time-consuming process of purchasing a home wasn\u2019t feasible. And apartment life was quickly becoming unsustainable. They longed to be in a home of their own, without the worries of rent increases or new neighborhoods and schools for their children.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t like to move \u2013 when you move you have to change the whole neighborhood and the children\u2019s school,\u201d Ahed says. \u201cThat will affect the children\u2019s education.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After hearing about the opportunity to build and purchase an affordable home with Habitat for Humanity, Ahed and her husband applied last year alongside another family in their community. With a mortgage at no more than 30% of their income, becoming first-time homeowners was finally within reach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c we will pay the money we can pay for a house and we will have stability so we don\u2019t have to move and the children will stay at the same school,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahed and her family will move into  Cherry Blossom, a 31-home community Habitat recently broke ground on in Southeast Portland. They are counting down the days until the move, and her children are especially excited about having their own rooms in the new house. They\u2019ve already visited the neighborhood several times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe like the neighborhood,\u201d Ahed says. \u201cIt\u2019s so good, it\u2019s so quiet and there\u2019s a school next to it, there\u2019s a shopping mall close to it, there\u2019s an emergency hospital there \u2013 I like it.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to having a stable environment for her children, Ahed is also looking forward to finishing her degree, applying for U.S. citizenship, and having a period of rest after several years in transition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter everything we have been through, we just keep going,\u201d Ahed says. \u201cWe look for opportunities to rebuild our life again.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Monicia Warner, Volunteer Storyteller  Owning a home has been a top priority for Ahed and her husband since immigrating to the United States in 2016. They\u2019ve made many friends and have found a sense of community while living in Portland, but there\u2019s always been one missing piece.  \u201cIt was the big thing in our life,\u201d says Ahed. \u201cWe want to have our own home. We don\u2019t want to waste our money on rent.\u201d  […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homeowner-story","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRebuilding Our Life: Ahed\u2019s Story - Habitat Portland Region<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/habitatportlandregion.org\/rebuilding-our-life-aheds-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rebuilding Our Life: Ahed\u2019s Story - Habitat Portland Region\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Written by Monicia Warner, Volunteer Storyteller  Owning a home has been a top priority for Ahed and her husband since immigrating to the United States in 2016. They\u2019ve made many friends and have found a sense of community while living in Portland, but there\u2019s always been one missing piece.  \u201cIt was the big thing in our life,\u201d says Ahed. \u201cWe want to have our own home. 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