All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted.”
–Saint Teresa of Avila
When Jose Guevara-Viveros and Ana Rosa Leon-Viveros moved to Bloomington four years ago the idea of being homeowners was never something they thought would be possible. They relocated with their three children, Angelli (11), Jose (7) and Elizabeth (4) to the community because of work opportunities and quickly saw how hard it was to find a safe, affordable place to live.
“We have had to move around town continuously due to how expensive rent is,” Ana Rosa tells us. “We’re excited to build a home for our family and be someplace permanent—to plant roots here in Bloomington and make a better life for our children.”
They learned about the Habitat program through Ana Rosa’s sister, Angeles, who is also a Habitat homeowner and who the family is living with currently. While they are pleased to have family here to support them and offer a place to stay, they’re excited to be in a home of their own where the children can have their own space.
Angelli, quite the artist, is very dedicated to her school work (and can’t wait to paint her room purple with rainbows) and Jose, who loves playing with Legos, dreams one day of being a fireman. Elisabeth is finishing her first year of kindergarten and is excited to be a first-grader next year.
Ana Rosa and Jose have done a lot of their sweat equity at the ReStore, helping in the warehouse and on the sales floor. They also have spent considerable time helping on the construction-site, building homes for other Habitat families and in homeownership-preparedness classes.
They have particularly enjoyed the classes focusing on home maintenance—learning basic home repairs and landscaping. Ana looks forward to planting flowers at their new home and having a yard to maintain for the kids to play in.
“We are so grateful for this opportunity,” Ana Rosa commented. “The staff at Habitat have been a big help throughout the entire process and have stood by us this entire year as we’ve worked through the program. We are so excited to finally begin construction on our new house!”