Travis and Sabrina’s Story

 “It was the best-timed miracle,” says Travis, father of four when he found out his family had qualified for a Habitat home. For Travis and Sabrina, finding a stable home for their family of six has proved challenging in the current housing market.

When their rental home of six years sold, the family tried everything they could think of to find a suitable home. “We were unable to find another rental so we’ve been living in a room at our friend’s house. The girls have a small bedroom and we operate completely out of our bedroom,” says Sabrina. “That’s where I eat, that’s my office, that’s our living room, that’s where we sleep, that’s where our youngest two sleep. We do everything in there,” Travis adds.

Concerned about where they would live, Sabrina decided to reach out to the community for support in finding housing for her family. “I had made a post on social media trying to find a rental or any kind of home for us and the Director of Family Services reached out and asked if we’d looked into applying for a Habitat home,” says Sabrina. “We didn’t think we had a chance at qualifying but we did it anyways and it worked out! It was the best-timed miracle,” adds Travis. “Affordable homeownership is essential and Habitat Victoria hopes to partner with more local developers to serve more families like Travis and Sabrina,” says Tiffany Gates, Director of Family Services at Habitat Victoria.

This resilient young family has been able to make things work in the small space they are currently occupying; however, moving into their Habitat home will give them the independence they need to thrive as a family. “I’m looking forward to the stability of knowing we have a place for our family that we can call home and make memories,” says Sabrina. Moving into their affordable home will bring new beginnings for this young Victoria family.
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Finding a stable, affordable home was not in the cards for this young family of six amidst a housing shortage in the Greater Victoria area. “We both work solid jobs and it still wasn’t easy for us to get ahead in the housing market in Victoria. This was make or break on whether we had a home or not, and now we do thanks to Habitat,” says Travis.

To qualify for a Habitat Home, families must complete 500 volunteer service hours. For Travis and Sabrina, volunteering has proven to be a beneficial experience for them. “I was able to help build the accessible ramp for our neighbors, Nancy and Dwayne and meet our community prior to moving in,” Travis shares. The family will be moving into our North Saanich build and has already been welcomed into the community with open arms.

Consider making a donation to our build fund to help more families like Travis and Sabrina’s build strength, stability and independence through affordable homeownership.