Through the Habitat Hand-Up Home Repair program, Habitat for Humanity Orange County was able to help U.S. Army veteran Jim Torres and his wife with necessary repairs to their home.   “You will see vets who are embarrassed about where they are living,” says Jim, who works with disabled veterans. “Habitat comes in and takes them from their chin on their chest to their head held high. The first time I saw that I said, ‘I’ve got to keep sending people there.’” Today, Jim, a disabled veteran himself,...

Jonathan, his wife Sarah, and their three children, baby Adrian, Arianna (8), and Jonathan Jr. (9) have lived in a two-bedroom rental apartment in Chula Vista for the past three years. Arianna and Jonathan, Jr. share a bedroom in the small apartment. Health, safety, and maintenance issues go unaddressed by the landlord. There are no safe spaces for the children to play outside. Jonathan proudly served in the United States Marine Corps for four years, participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom and earning a variety of medals, ribbons, badges, certificates, and...

Jasmine Palmer “…learned to be a responsible adult” later in life. “I got myself into a lot of trouble…lived like an adolescent teenager for a long time…I was an addict…” she said bluntly but with a confident acceptance of the past. “I kept getting arrested….” When her daughters were four and seven she was jailed for six months and then entered a residential rehabilitation program for another six months. Her mother took care of her girls that year. When she was released, she moved in with her mother and her...

Luis Alberto Mendoza Barajas & Marisela Lopez Rios have long dreamed of giving their two daughters a safe, decent home and are working hard to make that dream a reality. Today they live in an apartment with mold, electrical issues, pests, and other safety concerns. Until they found Habitat for Humanity, they were unable to find an affordable alternative for their family. Because of their limited savings, no realtor would work with them to find a home on the open market, and rental housing in Contra Costa County has become...