As a mother of three adult children, Sara’s home is a central component of her life. It is where they gather for a big family dinner every other month; a reprieve from the worldly responsibilities and time to check-in with one another while enjoying a meal together. It is also the site of a full reconstruction where Habitat for Humanity provided critical repairs to much of its exterior.  

Just two days after she reached out to Habitat, Home Repair & Preservation Manager Anthony called to set a date for inspection. Sara knew she needed a new wheelchair ramp and wasn’t surprised to learn that her home was in critical condition. For months, she feared losing the house because she couldn’t afford the necessary repairs and was on the receiving end of unsolicited calls to purchase the home she worked so hard to keep as a safe haven for her family.  

“My children are my driving force in life,” Sara says. “When I purchased this home, the goal was to have a place for them to live to adulthood and then a place to come home to, whenever they needed.” 

After a full assessment, our home repair crew replaced the entire roof, installed new gutters and downspouts, repaired siding, and trimmed back tree branches that were resting on the roof.  

“In-addition, she had a small flat roof area on the backside of her home that was in significant danger of collapsing,” Anthony says. “So, we replaced the structural support to make it safe and reliable.” 

Now, Sara is able to move freely in-and-out of her home. And while her progressive disability makes gardening a challenge, she is able to safely access her backyard and admire all the work she’s put into her home over the past two decades. When she moved from Nevada in 1988, and purchased this Beaverton home back in 2002, it was one of the proudest moments of her life. As a single parent with growing children, she knew it was important to provide a stable place to raise her family.  

“Because I plan on staying here the rest of my life, these repairs were essential for me,” Sara says. “It is such a huge relief for me and I have peace of mind now.”  

With this transformation complete, she now has time to get back to her hobbies and looks forward to cooking her special dinners for an upcoming family gatherings.  Her home is a welcoming place one again; a place for her grandsons to play with her rescue dogs and her friends to visit and catch up.