Removing Barriers and Building Legacies with Habitat KC
For nearly ten years, Lorraine made a Kansas City duplex home for herself and her two children. Working multiple jobs while pursuing her master’s degree, she built a life within those rental walls. But with limited privacy and slow-moving maintenance responses, it never truly felt like her own. When her landlord announced a rent increase, Lorraine faced a decision many Kansas City families know too well. With her lease ending soon and her daughter about to graduate from high school, it was time to put down some roots.
“I was nervous because buying a home isn’t something you can just trade in like a car,” Lorraine reflects. “Settling down felt like such a huge step because I’d never owned anything like that before.”
Finding the Right Support
Lorraine’s employer, Swope Health, believes in fostering well-being beyond physical health. Understanding that stable, secure housing forms the foundation of overall wellness, Swope Health partnered with Habitat KC to support their team members on the path to homeownership.
This partnership connected Lorraine with a Habitat KC housing counselor who became her guide and advocate throughout the home-buying process. She soon discovered impactful resources—like down payment assistance made possible through Swope Health’s investment in its employees—that gave her the confidence to move forward. Empowered with new tools and the unwavering support from her family, college professors, and the Habitat KC team, Lorraine navigated frustrating bank delays, student loan challenges, and financing hurdles that might have derailed her dreams.
For Lorraine, down payment assistance wasn’t just helpful—it was essential. “I didn’t have any money for a down payment,” she explains. “That extra assistance made a huge, huge difference.”
The timing was perfect. Just as her daughter prepared to graduate from high school, Lorraine closed on her family’s new home.
Moving out of the duplex, Lorraine took full advantage of her new fenced-in yard and detached garage by throwing her daughter’s graduation party at home. It was a celebration not just of her daughter’s achievement, but of everything Lorraine’s family had accomplished together.
Looking Forward
Today, when asked how she feels in her own home, Lorraine’s answer comes without hesitation: “I feel at home. I feel amazing.”
She now gets to sit in a house that she chose with her children. Down to the paint color on the walls and the appliances in the kitchen, it’s a space that’s entirely her own and will someday be her legacy to pass down.
This is the impact we strive for at Habitat KC—not just empowering families to become homeowners, but removing barriers so more families can access the stability and opportunity that homeownership makes possible.
Lorraine’s message to others considering homeownership is simple but powerful: “Do it. Just go ahead and do it. Yes, it’s work, but it’s totally worth it.”