Nancy and Dwayne's Habitat Story

Nancy has tried everything to find a barrier-free home suitable for her son James’ extra support needs. Finding an affordable home that was also accessible seemed impossible for the family of four. At Habitat, our mission is to empower families to live their best life by attaining a home that meets their needs. This includes Angel, James’ emotional support animal who is separated from the family due to restrictions with their current rental.
​
Nancy and Dwayne made the tough decision to uproot their lives and move to Victoria from St. John’s, Newfoundland. The goal was to give their son James, who uses a wheelchair, a better quality of life. “Winters are very long and it was hard for me to see him only get out of the house to go to school. He would go to school, go home, and go to bed,” Nancy shares. Once the family arrived in Victoria, they secured a small accessible two-bedroom apartment with one caveat – they could not bring James’ emotional support companion, Angel with them. “Angel is James’ happiness, she is his best friend, she puts a smile on his face when he is sad,” says Nancy. 
​
Living in a small two-bedroom apartment has brought other challenges for the family. With the two brothers sharing a room, there is very little personal space or sense of privacy. Sixteen-year-old Ryan explains, “I sleep by the window and my brother sleeps by the door and it’s very small. I have a twin bed and it is tight because we have wheelchairs and equipment in there. There’s no privacy at all.”

Moving into their fully accessible Habitat home will be a life-changing opportunity for the family. “James can access every room in the home. He can go to his brother’s room and he can come up to our room. In our last place, we were upstairs and he was downstairs. We didn’t like it but we had no choice, it was a two-story house,” says Dwayne.  This independence will mean everything for James who has had to make sacrifices in homes that were not truly barrier-free. When asked what excites him the most, James exclaims “My own room and bathroom. And the elevator!”

For Nancy and Dwayne, moving into their Habitat home will change their lives exponentially. The impact of reuniting James with his support animal, Angel, and having space for the boys to gain their independence in their new Habitat home means everything to them. “Because of Habitat, we no longer have to worry about where we can live.  We no longer feel like we are trapped in this apartment with our two boys crammed in one room with all James’ equipment,” says Nancy.  

Your support can help a family like Nancy and Dwayne’s build a decent, accessible place to call home. No donation is too small to make a difference. Give today and help local families build their future.