Patience, integrity, gratitude, health, and love — these are the values that define Habitat homeowner Eric’s life. 
 
“After being where I’ve been, you’ve got to focus on the cup being half full. Because I could not have a full cup at one time,” Eric reflects with the wisdom of experience. 

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. 
 
“My ideal place to go, but I don’t think I can afford to go there, is Dubai,” he says with a laugh. Closer to home, he has his sights set on Hawaii and Alaska. “I’d like to go to Alaska. You can see the moose, the bears, and everything, so I want to try that.” 
 
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’s 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.  

“I was doing radiation treatment, so it wasn’t 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,” Eric recounts. 

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’s Preference Policy program, which gives descendants of households displaced by urban renewal priority for affordable housing, including Habitat homes. 

Eric’s roots run deep in Portland. He grew up in the Albina District near North Williams Street and Fremont. “I go by there a lot. Everything is so tiny. The house we used to live in is still the same size. I can’t 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,” he recalls. 

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’m the only one on the deed. It’s different. More responsibility, which is a good thing.” 

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. 
 
“I’ve done so much counseling in my life because of the issues I’ve had. I haven’t ‘arrived,’ but I’ve 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.” 

Eric’s journey has been fraught with difficulties, but through determination, he found strength through his higher power, God. 

“It is because of God that I have been able to recover from addiction and cancer. I don’t believe in luck. I don’t believe in coincidence. How everything has lined up, it was meant for me to learn lessons and show me the way.”