Growing up with seven siblings, Lorrie and her family moved a lot. More than anyone should have to.  

“We moved, I’d say, anywhere from two to six times a year,” Lorrie said, remembering a time when she and three of her siblings were told to lay low in the car when her mom approached a landlord for a place to stay.  

Looking back, Lorrie thinks her mom wasn’t honest about the number of children she had, and when a landlord would find out there were eight, they had to move. 

“Because nobody’s going to rent to eight kids,” she said, recalling another time when her mom picked her up at school, and they went home to a different house.  

The instability of her youth is far removed from the welcoming home Lorrie has created for her family today. She and her children moved into her Habitat home in 2018. Visitors are greeted with windchimes of various shapes and sizes that frame the front door. Inside, the walls are adorned with paintings and portraits that tell the story of a loving family that has grown up in this home. 

When asked how she felt when she moved in all those years ago, Lorrie pauses to think of the words. 

“I felt free,” she said. “I felt like I was on top of the world.” 

Lorrie had lived in rental housing all her life. For 12 years prior to buying her Habitat home, Lorrie had rented a house in poor condition. Part of their living space was in the unfinished basement to make room for her family. “It was just terrible.” 

But until she applied to Habitat for Humanity, she didn’t have the financial means to buy her own home, despite steady employment with the same company for 17 years. Lorrie is the mother of an adult son, but she has also helped raise three family members in need since they were young. She currently lives with her grandniece, now 19, whom Lorrie took over parenting when she was only a week old.  

With Habitat, Lorrie said she found the hope she was looking for. Affordability was one thing, she said, but it was also the stability and security of not having to live in “somebody else’s house.” She described having a home of her own as “the sense of belonging somewhere.” 

“It’s always been a dream to have a home, but I never thought it was anything that I could ever have, and I accomplished a goal,” Lorrie said. “It made me feel really accomplished.” 

As with all homebuyers, Lorrie contributed participation hours, which she applied to working on Habitat build sites, including the Helensview neighborhood where she now lives. Her home was already complete when she started there, so she helped build other homes in the community. But she always went to her own driveway to eat her lunch, reinforcing an emotional connection she says she has with the home. 

Gradually Lorrie and her family would move items over to the home and decorate when time allowed. “It was such a good feeling just to be here.” 

Another goal she had was maybe more basic, but no less symbolic. 

“My entire life I have not had my own bed — a brand new bed that nobody had before,” she said. New beds for her and her grandniece were among the first things she bought before moving in. 

With homeownership, Lorrie said she has more financial stability. Money isn’t lost on high rents or utility bills. With an affordable home, Lorrie was able to pay off her credit card debt, save money, and support her family. She recently opened a room to help her brother and his wife, who is battling cancer. 

“It’s awesome to have this so that I can help others,” she said. “I can help them through crises in their life.” 

And now it’s her home that hosts the family Christmas celebrations. Lorrie lights up just talking about a house filled with chatter, and the family she has brought together all wearing matching pajamas. She said she likes that the home is something to be passed on to one of the children. “It’s something that they can have, for their own security and stability.” 

Lorrie said she used to joke that once all the kids were grown, she would take an Alaskan cruise. She never did buy those tickets, but as a gift for her 65th birthday this year, her children bought them for her. She sails in September, and she is beyond excited for this new adventure. 

And she knows that when the cruise is over, it will be her own, familiar home she returns to. 

“This has changed my life,” she said. “It’s been an amazing experience.”