“It is an excitement and emotion so big, I can’t explain it. I sometimes still can’t believe we own this home.” Florencia said when asked how she felt about her new home.
The block the family lives on is peaceful and quiet. On a nice day, from the front porch you can see a park, plenty of green trees, and neighborhood families out in their yards. The family’s home stands out, as they painted their porch and front pillars bright green. Inside, the home is anything but quiet, with three, happy, playful young children.
“It’s a lot of space,” Florencia explained. Prior to owning their own home the five-person family rented the second floor of a small house, “now we have a lot of space for the kids to run. That also means more space for me to clean, but it’s worth it.”
Florencia decorated the home herself, and it has a warm, Caribbean feel to it, with light sandy walls and brightly colored accents. The inside of the home is impeccably clean, even with the chaos wreaked by three young boys. Despite hectic personal and professional lives – Florencia works nights as a server, Florencio full time at a recycling plant – they keep a very tidy home.
A tidy home is just one way the family shows their pride. Florencia explained that while renting, she only bought used furniture, now Florencia is investing in all new furniture.
Three of the biggest reasons Florencia and Florencio wanted to own a home, come in small packages: their children, Martin, Angel and Christian. According to Dr. Megan Sandel, pediatrician at Boston Medical Center, “housing can act like a vaccine to provide multiple long-lasting benefits” for children. After renting cramped apartments for many years, Florencia and Florencio understand this better than most. Their new home is not only a sanctuary for their three children, but the children of cousins, nephews, and neighbors. Safe, sanitary housing is a public health crisis,a crisis that affects our children, and ACTS families know this can be solved by affordable homeownership.
