Tracy’s Story
The courts didn’t even know her name, “Jane Doe” the foreclosure notice read. The courts may not have known her, but Habitat knows her: Tracy. She and her three children are one of the next families that will move into their Habitat home.
After work one day, Tracy came home to a court-issued foreclosure notice on the front door of her Palmetto rental. The landlord did not use Tracy’s rent to pay mortgage on the property. With only thirty days until they would be out on the street, Tracy hurried to get her son and two teenage daughters moved out with their belongings.
In the rush to vacate the property, all they could find was a run-down house in a rough Bradenton neighborhood. The washer leaked water, the kitchen was tiny for a family with three growing teenagers and wires hung out where light switches should have been.
Occasionally, they heard gunshots at night. Crime was so bad that Tracy’s friend who delivers packages in the area said he dreaded having that route. Tracy couldn’t wait to find something more suitable for her and her family.
Tracy’s story is an example of how families are affected by this economic downturn. Through no fault of her own, Tracy’s family life was uprooted, disrupted and they were forced to live in a place they never would have chosen to live. Manatee County Habitat for Humanity is ready and responding. Habitat is Tracy’s path out of insecurity and into stability for her and her family.
