Justin and Mandy, and their two school age sons had been living in unfit, unsafe conditions in an extremely remote location far from town.
With both working, they earned enough to support their family. They eagerly completed the homeownership certification requirements, so they could join a Self-Help housing group. Working 30 hours a week to build their house and others, they earned sweat equity to complement their modest savings.
Then one day, Justin was laid off. Immediately, he made looking for work his full-time job while still building houses 30 hours a week. Determined to not lose this opportunity to improve his
family’s living conditions, including moving just a few miles from town, he accepted job 35 miles away to ensure his household income was sufficient to stay in the Self-Help program.