A Habitat Partner Family Becomes a Habitat Volunteer
Leah Grossmann’s Story
Leah Grossmann purchased her Habitat for Humanity house in 2006 when her daughter, Krista, was 6 years old. Prior to Habitat, Leah’s housing situation was challenging – on one income, the apartments that fell in her price range were either unsafe or inconveniently located for their needs.
“The rental I was in before Habitat was close to my job, but not to where Krista was attending childcare. I couldn’t afford to pay for housing, childcare and a car on my income, so I didn’t own a car. This meant I ended up taking four buses for a total of three hours of ride time every day just to get Krista to and from childcare and get myself to and from work.”
Leah said that, at times, the experience was overwhelming, but Krista’s excitement and outlook made every bus ride an adventure. Leah is the kind of person who makes things work, no matter the situation, and when they were selected as a Habitat partner family in 2004, everything seemed to change for the better.
She pursued her dream career in early childhood education, got married to a wonderful man and now has a younger son. Her family has grown, so they no longer live in her Habitat house, but she said, “It will always be ‘my home,’ and I love driving by it, knowing that Krista and I built it together.”
Leah has served as a volunteer on Habitat’s Family Selection Committee since 2007, because she knows firsthand the value and impact that access to affordable homeownership has for a family. She also hears countless stories from applicants who have struggled to put down roots in Fort Collins – people who work extremely hard yet still have to move year after year or leave the community altogether in search of affordable housing.
“It’s very important that families feel like they’ve found their place – the place where they can confidently raise their children, enjoy the community they live in and thrive. Many people feel that way about Fort Collins, but the cost of housing doesn’t make it accessible to stay here,” Leah said.
In the future, she would love to see more organizations and entities partner up in a format similar to OneVoice for Housing because “it would be great to have a community hub that collects information on housing providers and other resources so that people could put in their info, have all the resources in one place and get started based on what they qualify for.”
