Patience, integrity, gratitude, health, and love \u2014 these are the values that define Habitat homeowner Eric’s life.
\u201cAfter being where I\u2019ve been, you\u2019ve got to focus on the cup being half full. Because I could not have a full cup at one time,\u201d Eric reflects with the wisdom of experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sitting peacefully on his couch in his North Portland home, Eric recently celebrated his 66th birthday and is eagerly looking forward to retirement next year. His dreams are filled with the possibilities of travel.
\u201cMy ideal place to go, but I don\u2019t think I can afford to go there, is Dubai,\u201d he says with a laugh. Closer to home, he has his sights set on Hawaii and Alaska. \u201cI\u2019d like to go to Alaska. You can see the moose, the bears, and everything, so I want to try that.\u201d
After all he has endured, Eric deserves a break. He is winding down toward retirement, a well-earned respite after a life of challenges, including a divorce, job loss due to injuries, and recovering from addiction with a sobriety date of August 10, 1998. And just as Eric\u2019s dream of homeownership was becoming a reality, he was diagnosed with cancer. The diagnosis came as a shock, and the treatments left him unable to physically help build his own home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was doing radiation treatment, so it wasn\u2019t feasible for me to get outside, pounding nails and working on sites. And I was trying to work full time during treatments. It wiped me out,\u201d Eric recounts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite these hurdles, Eric completed homeownership education classes and utilized an IDA program through OnPoint Community Credit Union, which helped him save for his down payment and closing costs. He purchased his new home through Habitat for Humanity in 2021, after learning about the city\u2019s Preference Policy program, which gives descendants of households displaced by urban renewal priority for affordable housing, including Habitat homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eric\u2019s roots run deep in Portland. He grew up in the Albina District near North Williams Street and Fremont. \u201cI go by there a lot. Everything is so tiny. The house we used to live in is still the same size. I can\u2019t believe that two parents and five children grew up in that house. But we made ends meet and then we moved over by Irving Park,\u201d he recalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The significance of homeownership, and the responsibilities that come with it, strikes a chord with Eric. “It’s a different form of wealth management. Being I\u2019m the only one on the deed. It’s different. More responsibility, which is a good thing.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eric is now in a career that he loves, working as a peer support specialist, drawing from his own experience recovering from addiction, to help others.
\u201cI\u2019ve done so much counseling in my life because of the issues I\u2019ve had. I haven\u2019t \u2018arrived,\u2019 but I\u2019ve come a long, long way. But I still have a long way to go. Just being able to give back, being in a position to help these young men who are going through challenges that I understand because of lived experience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eric\u2019s journey has been fraught with difficulties, but through determination, he found strength through his higher power, God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is because of God that I have been able to recover from addiction and cancer. I don\u2019t believe in luck. I don\u2019t believe in coincidence. How everything has lined up, it was meant for me to learn lessons and show me the way.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Patience, integrity, gratitude, health, and love \u2014 these are the values that define Habitat homeowner Eric’s life. \u201cAfter being where I\u2019ve been, you\u2019ve got to focus on the cup being half full. Because I could not have a full cup at one time,\u201d Eric reflects with the wisdom of experience. Sitting peacefully on his couch in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":33171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homeowner-story"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n