Lyssa hated the choice she faced: change her career or move to a more affordable area. Her young family lived in a two-bedroom rental apartment that was owned by the Aspen School District and offered to teachers at subsidized rents for up to five years. Their lease was soon ending, and their family was already outgrowing the small space.

If they moved away, they’d not only have to restart their lives, but they’d be leaving two critical jobs vacant. Jeremy works as an information technology professional for the Pitkin County government. Lyssa says county workers, much like teachers, are experiencing a “mass exodus” due to housing unaffordability.

Partnering for affordability

Lyssa and Jeremy feared they would need to leave the valley until they heard about Habitat for Humanity Roaring Fork Valley’s new Basalt Vista neighborhood, a 27-home community devoted to bringing affordable homeownership opportunities to schoolteachers and county workers. Lyssa and Jeremy, who qualified for the program through Jeremy’s Pitkin County job, perfectly fit the bill. In September 2020, the couple moved into Basalt Vista and exhaled with relief that they would be staying in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Habitat had forged key local partnerships to create the multifamily development. The Roaring Fork School District donated an estimated $3 million of land, and Pitkin County gave $4 million to go toward building costs. The partnerships opened doors for Habitat, the school district and the county to design a neighborhood where county workers and in-district teachers could thrive in the same community where they work.

Helping essential workers stay and serve

An absence of affordable housing across the U.S. continues to threaten the livelihoods of essential workers like Lyssa and Jeremy and Katie. Through Basalt Vista, Habitat Roaring Fork Valley and partners have created a housing solution to help 27 families stay in the area and continue serving the community.

Katie often stands on her porch and reflects on becoming a homeowner. “My home is very important. It’s my sanctuary,” Katie says. “What does this house mean for me? It changed my life.”

Antero and his family worked to secure the home as best they could, despite having to spend the six months following the storm without electricity or water. Their kitchen cabinets had gotten wet and began attracting moths. Antero, a wood artisan by trade, tried tying down the metal sheeting on the roof with cables to keep the rain out. It didn’t work for long. “I was working, but financially I wasn’t very well. There were days without work, the pay was meager, and buying materials was very difficult,” he says.

The road to recovery

After the storm, communication was challenging, especially in rural areas, like Antero and Luz’s neighborhood in Adjuntas. Vans with loudspeakers drove through severely damaged areas sharing information about Habitat’s home repair program.

The couple believed Habitat could be the answer to their prayers and applied. Sixty-four-year-old Luz says she felt like, “the happiest woman in the world,” when she heard they’d been approved. When the repairs took place, it had been more than three years since the couple’s home was damaged by the storm.

Five years ago, AbbVie, a research-based global biopharmaceutical company that has operated on the island for nearly 50 years, donated $50 million to Habitat to help families and communities recover from the devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and strengthen access to housing in Puerto Rico. With AbbVie’s support, Habitat has partnered directly with hurricane-affected families, like Antero and Luz, to address their shelter needs. Besides home repair work, Habitat’s holistic program also supports workforce development, securing land tenure and fostering long-term improvement to shelter and land resilience issues.

During their repairs, Antero and Luz’s home received a new roof and kitchen cabinetry, waterproofing of the concrete roof, replacement of an aluminum door and interior wood doors, general electric work, and repair of their balcony and stairs as well as interior and exterior paint. Antero also used his skills as an artisan to help personalize some of the repairs, including purchasing and installing trim for the windows, and he installed a new gas stove.

A safe place to be

“We live more confidently now,” says Antero. “We no longer have leaks. When I saw how the house was and seeing it now, it’s like a load that has been taken off. We even enjoy downpours now because we know we’ll stay warm and dry.”

The couple loves being able to have family over again and looks forward to spending many more joyous occasions with their children and two grandchildren. “Home is happiness,” Antero says.