JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A military hero will soon be moving into the house she just bought with the help of Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville (HabiJax).
Mia Evans has a long list of titles: mother, Air Force Reservist, art teacher -- and now she will add “homeowner” to that list.
“It does not feel real. It feels very surreal to know that all of this is going behind me. I feel very blessed,” Evans said.
Evans, who’s originally from Chicago but moved to Jacksonville in 2012, toured her new house with a big smile on her face.
“I feel elated. Like a weight is being lifted off of my shoulders. In today’s homebuying climate, to have this purchase go through the way that it did, it feels like a miracle,” Evans said.
HabiJax is the source that helped Evans get her new house.
But the big thing to clear up is she was not given the house. She bought it.
It is through an affordable housing program with HabiJax.
Chris Folds with the organization said this takes commitment, but pays dividends.
“They are building equity, and they are also paying less month-to-month for it so that they can invest in themselves and invest in their quality of life, save, and do right by themselves and their families,” Folds said.
There are some major requirements homeowners-to-be have to go through:
- They must take six classes of a financial literacy course through HabiJax
- “Sweat equity”: They have to volunteer at least 75 hours to help either build their house or someone else’s
“I put in my sweat equity hours,” Evans said. “That is me out there with a hardhat, a hammer, with the other volunteers. Basically learning how to install windows, and nailed things into drywall, and learning how the beams are put together and the skeleton of the house.”
Evans’ new house is one of five houses HabiJax plans to build this year for military families.
“She was overcome with emotion. She was very grateful for the opportunity, but it was all her. It was her accomplishment. It was her hard work,” Folds said.
Altogether, the organization is expected to build 43 houses in 2024.
There were times Evans did not think this was possible. She was in the market for four years and her pursuit of a house was briefly put on hold for a six-month deployment.
But she never lost hope, and to Folds — Evans always showed grit.
“The program requires a lot of perseverance. I don’t think you can do all of the array of different things that Mia is doing, being a teacher, being in the military, and also committing the time to do sweat equity with us, which is volunteering on houses, going through the financial literacy curriculum that we have. It takes a lot. It is a lot of bandwidth,” Folds said.
“It is hard to pull off, homeownership. That is why we exist. To help people achieve that dream because we feel that everybody deserves a decent place to live,” Folds said.
Evans cannot wait to move into her new home.
“It is really going to be a big blessing for me and my daughters,” Evans said.
For many, many years to come.
HabiJax will hold a “House Dedication” event for Evans on Tuesday. It will be on Evergreen Avenue starting at 3 p.m.