“It feels really good to be able to look at your day and do something hands-on and know that you’re helping, especially in these tumultuous times.”
For volunteer Sophia Dehen, that feeling keeps her coming back to her work with Habitat. Over the past three years, Sophia has been giving back to the community as a member of the Ambassador Council (AC), Habitat’s group of young professionals passionate about affordable housing.
Sophia says she always knew of Habitat’s work peripherally, but it wasn’t until a chance encounter in 2022 that she was truly introduced to the work.
The stars align
“I started with the AC through a weird scenario: one person not being available then seeing my middle school lacrosse coach,” she laughs.
She attended Habitat’s Hard Hat & Black Tie event in 2022 as her work friend’s plus-one, since her boss couldn’t go. There, she ran into her old lacrosse coach, and they got to talking about volunteering. She connected with the director of the Ambassador Council, went to their next meeting, and immediately knew she wanted to be involved.
“It felt like all of the stars were aligning.”
Over her years with the AC, Sophia has been a key player in the group’s advocacy, volunteering, and fundraising efforts.
The Ambassador Council hosts an annual evening of fun and fundraising, Trivia on the Lawn, to support Habitat’s mission. Sophia helped make the most recent one a huge success — even through a downpour — by connecting her employers Advanced Technology Group, Inc. and Straightaway Cocktails with Habitat to help sponsor the event.
Homeownership hurdles
Born and raised in Vancouver, Washington, Sophia fondly remembers spending most of her time in her formative years in Portland. After attending college in New Orleans, she says she couldn’t resist coming back to Portland in 2019.
In 2022, as Sophia was first getting involved with the Ambassador Council, she decided she was ready to buy her own home. With a good job and family support, it seemed like it could be attainable.
“I had done basically everything that you’re told growing up about meeting certain milestones in your life. I was like, ‘Okay, I think this is maybe something I could do.’”
Her experience didn’t go as planned. She was outbid on every property where she put in an offer. And the only properties she could even consider within her budget “would’ve needed renovations down to the studs.”
Fueling her fire
Sophia didn’t let the experience drag her down. Instead, she used it as a “motivating factor” personally and as a Habitat volunteer.
“If a person coming from a privileged position and with family assistance cannot even get a one bed, one bath condo that needs a bunch of fixing… I have no idea how people who don’t have family support, or who have their own families to provide for, are able to.”
Her experience reflects a growing trend. In a recent report, Bankrate said that over 75% of homes in the US are unaffordable to the typical household — those earning around the national average of $80,000 a year. In the Portland area, they found that only 9.8% of homes are affordable to average households.
It is no wonder that the median age of first-time homebuyers climbed to 40 years old, an all-time high, in 2025, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.
While Sophia is still renting, she hasn’t lost her passion for homeownership — for herself or others. She still has her eyes on owning a home one day, though it may take time.
“I have two employers because I have a goal of financial freedom and ideally being able to buy a home one day. To reach my goals while still being able to live life and grab a coffee out every now and then, the extra income has been a necessity,” she says.
Beyond saving for her own goals, Sophia channels her energy into the AC. Every fundraiser, advocacy day, and build day helps create opportunities for more people in the Portland region to become homeowners and build financial freedom.
“Building wealth and security has been proven over and over to create more successful, stable situations,” she says.
Finding hope in community
In times of challenge, Sophia finds the light.
“While 2025 has been a really tough year, I think our strengths in our community are really shining and I’m really excited to see that continue,” she says, admiring how people in the Portland region have come together to support one another.
Volunteering with Habitat is one way she sees that support shining through. When the world feels overwhelming, Sophia says coming together around affordable housing is a relief.
“When everything can feel super out of control and crazy and very isolating, having a day that’s completely with your community, helping the community, is a really incredible feeling.”
To anyone nervous about getting involved, her advice is to just take the first step.
“It’s scary and nerve-racking at first, especially if you’re doing it on your own… But just remember that everyone is there with the same goal. They’re going to be welcoming, and it’s important to take that first step, because I guarantee it won’t be as scary as you think.”
Want to volunteer with Habitat? Learn more about opportunities here.
