Meet Julieta Aquino, WANDA mom, and her daughter Alexys. This past Saturday was the dedication ceremony for the new housing development where Julieta will soon own her own home! It was a beautiful sunny morning. The excitement was palpable. Everyone was happy and even emotional. Julieta and Alexys were one of eleven families to take possession of phase one of this project.
Julieta is a WANDA program participant, learning to set personal goals, boost her financial literacy, advance her career, and sharpen key life skills. Julieta reached her savings goal early and is due to graduate next year. She will be applying her WANDA savings and match toward her part of the down payment on her new Habitat for Humanity home.
As Julieta embarked on her search for affordable housing in the Bay Area, she worried her only option was to live in dangerous neighborhoods or move out of state. Then she came across Habitat. Although she didn’t get approved when first applying for program, Julieta asked one question that would change her life just a few years later: “What do I need to do?”
After years of preparation – attending financial education workshops through the WANDA program, meeting with housing counselors, and working hard to change her financial outlook – Julieta qualified to purchase a home at Central Commons in Fremont. When Julieta got the call that she’d qualified, she was overwhelmed with joy. “I didn’t think I was ever going to see myself in this position at this point in time of my life – is is just how the economy is right now in the Bay Area,” Julieta says. “It’s really hard to be a homeowner, especially as a single parent.”
WANDA accepts up to 30 low-income single moms a year in a matched savings and education program that changes lives. Start your journey today! Find out if you qualify to become a WANDA mom.