The Steen Family's Home - “It’s Perfect”

By Heidi Lai, Habitat Volunteer

Steen family's home with beautiful Christmas lights!

This Christmas, the Steens got to put up Christmas lights for the first time. Many of us take that for granted, but for the Steens, that means a lot. “It was like a dream come true,” Debbie Steen, who lives with her twelve-year old daughter, said.  “My daughter has been asking years and years and years!” And this was all because of Habitat for Humanity.

When it came to housing, Debbie Steen and her daughter had much misfortune. It all started in 2007, when her house caught on fire. “We lost everything,” Debbie recalls. “We barely had clothes on our backs that morning when our house burned up. I don’t even know if my daughter had shoes on.” After the house fire, Debbie and her daughter moved to a townhouse in San Bernardino. But their experience there was traumatic as well. “I lived in a very bad area,” Debbie remembers. “There were lots of shootings, lots of murders.” Luckily for Debbie and her daughter, though, Habitat for Humanity stepped in.

Debbie received a phone call, when she was told that she had been chosen as one of the Habitat families. Habitat for Humanity—and all the wonderful volunteers, of course—would build her a brand new house that would be all her own. Debbie recalls, “I didn’t believe she had the right person initially. She had to call me back for something else and I thought, ‘Oh no, she’s calling to say she called the wrong family.’ It was unbelievable that I had actually been chosen to be in the Habitat family!”

Debbie had a little while to wait before she would finally be able to live in her own house, but it was all worth it. Working with Habitat for Humanity was both “positive” and “humbling.” And watching people from “all different walks of life” pitch in to build HER house really touched Debbie’s heart. “All the volunteers coming out to help just shows how amazing people are,” Debbie said honestly. “It just shows a lot of goodness.” She marvels, “The volunteers didn’t want anything in return; they just wanted to help!” Finally, the house was completed, and Debbie and her daughter moved into their new house. It’s almost been a year now, and Debbie and her daughter are very content and very grateful to Habitat.

“The new house is beautiful and peaceful and quiet,” Debbie said happily. “No gunshots, no helicopters, no people hanging out in front of your house…it’s perfect. It’s perfect for my daughter and me!”