Elijah & Tracey Dupree with children Elijah, Jr., Elisha, Tra’esha & Tra’shon:

When Elijah and Tracey Dupree applied for a Habitat home in 1993, they were expecting their third child. Elijah, Jr. and Elisha welcomed their little sister, Tra’esha in 1994. Today, the family has grown to six, with Tra’shon’s arrival in 1998. Elijah, Sr. is a veteran of the first Gulf War. Tracey recently completed training to increase her earning potential in medical billing. They have been living in their Bristol Township home since June 1995, with much more room than their previous living arrangements, a two-bedroom apartment in Langhorne. Regarding the homeownership process, they said, “You watch as a dream slowly comes true and you are a part of it. Being involved in your dream is truly overwhelming.”

Stephanie Parrish with children Kanisha & Bria:

Stephanie Parrish is a single Mom to Kanisha and Bria. On her Habitat application, she wrote, “It has always been my dream to own a home. And I have been waiting on the Lord to bless me with one; I cannot do it on my own.” While fighting a debilitating illness, Stephanie and her daughters stayed focused and faithful. The Lord answered their prayers; they purchased their Bristol Borough home in October 1996. Stephanie continued to partner with Habitat Bucks long after she moved into her home, serving on the Family Selection Committee for several years and watching other families’ dreams come true.

Florence Joyce with children Laura, Jonnathon, Donald & Nicholas:

Florence Cenkner lived in a two-bedroom, Bensalem apartment with her four children when she was accepted into the Habitat program. Having grown up in the Bristol area, Florence was excited about moving into a familiar neighborhood. The family of five settled on their Bristol Borough home in October 1996. In May 2004, Florence married her sweetheart, Steve Joyce, in a riverfront wedding ceremony.

Carol Ruggia with children Mario & Michael:

Need for adequate shelter is a requirement of all Habitat applicants. Carol Rugghia and her sons, Mario and Michael, understood that need too well. Their Fairless Hills apartment was infested with pests and insects. Poor insulation and water damage resulted in mold and mildew growing on everything—even their clothes in the closets. Their Habitat home in Levittown is completely opposite. They moved into their new home in December 1999. Soon after she started working on her sweat equity hours, Carol described her best Habitat moment as “the feeling you get the first time you work on one of the homes….[We] have made many new friends with families and Habitat members.”

Sharon Baxter with children Shakitra, Lettetia, Bashean, Kareem & Asia:

Sharon Baxter used to live in a cramped, two-bedroom apartment with three of her five children (the other children lived with relatives due to the lack of space). Through the family’s partnership with Habitat Bucks, Sharon, Shakitra, Lettetia, Bashean, Kareem and Asia were able to move into a spacious home in Bristol Borough. Feeling that homeownership was near-impossible due to her income, Sharon found her dream become a reality as a result of her courage, hard work, dedication and determination to persevere through hardships. The Baxter family continues to achieve new goals in education and financial stability, all the while maintaining a strong joy of life and peace in God.

Jim & Lois Shornock with children Sarah, John, Jesse & Ian:

Physical injuries causing a loss of job was forcing this family of six out of their Levittown home; time was running out. But with their determination and faith in God, Jim and Lois Shornock, with their children regained financial stability and purchased their Habitat Bucks home in June 1999. Their Bristol Township home was built as part of a special program, “The House That Congress Built,” with Congressman Jim Greenwood putting his construction skills to great use.

Tom & Kathy Bonfig with children Danielle, Cherri, Kathy Jo, Tiffany & Tamara:

A Mom and Dad and five daughters once lived in a condemned apartment complex in Fairless Hills. Now, they live in a beautiful home in Croydon, Bristol Township, saving several hundred dollars per month in housing costs and knowing that their hard-earned money is going into something that is theirs. Tom and Kathy Bonfig, along with their children, moved into their new home in November 1999. Their home was built with a large donation from Keystone Bank’s Keystone Cares program, which covered half the cost of the Bonfig home. The family’s goal of a stable home was aided by their participation in the Bucks County Opportunity Council’s Family Sufficiency Program.

Peggy Kindt with children Braiden & Sage:

Despite suffering the loss of her husband and their father to cancer, Margit “Peggy” Kindt and her children did not want for much. Peggy worked several jobs to support the family and to encourage Braiden and Sage to stay in college. Homeownership was a dream, “…a desire to own a home for [her] children—to have a ‘base’ where [she] can express [her] love.” The Kindt’s dream came true when they purchased their Bristol Borough home in February 2000. Braiden recently graduated from college and took a successful job in New York City.

Mingtoy Devero with children Marques, Lance, Faith & Mercedes:

A one-bedroom apartment is not a decent home for a mom and four kids. Despite the lack of space, the Devero family had always “made do with what [they] had.” In February 2000, Mingtoy and her children said good-bye to their cramped quarters and moved into a much-roomier home in Bristol Borough. Mingtoy had never owned a home before; but she knew that “with the help of [Habitat] and God [they would] some day be blessed with a home.”

Emmanuel & Aneza Abalo with child:

They were four adults living in a one-bedroom apartment; a baby on the way. Emmanuel and Aneza knew it was time to find something else for them, their cousin, the foster adult for whom they cared and their soon-to-arrive child. With the right opportunity, they could afford a larger home—Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County was that opportunity. The Abalo family welcomed their first child into the family in October 1997 and moved into their new Bristol Township home in June 2000.

Glenys DeBlass with children Chris, Ryan & Amanda:

Struggling through some bad circumstances, Glenys DeBlass was tired of moving her children from one apartment to the next to avoid increasing rental costs. They needed stability; they had future goals that might be disrupted by insecure living conditions. Glenys and her three children found that stability in their new home, purchased through Habitat Bucks. The family moved into their home in October 2000. Following his Mom’s lead of keeping education as a top priority, Chris begins college in the fall of 2004.

Courtney & Tonia Carroll with children Candice, Faith & Isaiah:

The two-bedroom Telford apartment Tonia and Courtney Carroll rented for them and their three children had water seepage damage in the ceilings. The conditions created mold and mildew in all of the rooms, and oldest daughter, Candace, who has asthma, especially suffered from the family’s living conditions. The Carroll’s heard about the Habitat for Humanity program through friends, and in 1997, they submitted an application for housing at Habitat Bucks.
Courtney and Tonia Carroll have always worked hard and purposefully to provide the best for their three children. They’ve worked opposite shifts at their jobs to keep life affordable and to insure the best upbringing for their family. When the time came after the family’s acceptance as a partner family in 1997, they approached the task of completing the required 500 sweat equity hours on their home with that same determination.
When the Carroll family moved into their new home in February 1998, they not only gained a simple, decent, safe home, but also some peace and contentment. Says Courtney, “It has helped us inwardly—spiritually, morally. It says a lot when you can turn the key to the door of your own home. It’s like a safe haven. We have invested in our lives. It has changed our lives all around.”

Tracy Higgins with child Jacob:

Tracy Higgins took on the responsibility for raising her two-year-old son, Jacob, by herself. They shared a bedroom in her small, termite-infested apartment with no yard in which Jacob could play. Because of the area’s high rate of drinking and drug abuse, Tracy was fearful of the influences Jacob would encounter as he grew up.
Despite these conditions, Tracy maintained steady employment and even managed to gain certification in the health profession by way of an evening school program. By February 2000, determined to raise her son in a “neighborhood with strong family values,” Tracy sent in an application for a Habitat home.
In her application, Tracy wrote that she wanted to show her “son that even though [she is] a single mother, hard work does pay off.” After Tracy’s acceptance in June 2000, and subsequent fulfillment of 500 sweat equity hours, Tracy was able to do just that.
Tracy and Jacob, now ten, have been enjoying their lives and time together in their new home since August 2001. Jacob has a yard to play in, and Tracy has neighbors she can depend on “for a lifetime.”