Tina D was born and raised in the Davidson area and has lived there all her life. She has two adult children and one grand-daughter, Honesty, who is, “the light of my life”, she shared. Growing up, she attended the Davidson School, which is now Davidson K-8. She now works at The Pines retirement home, serving food to the residents. Her kindergarten teacher is a resident there and Tina loves that she, “gets to take care of her like she took care of me.” Tina is also a recent breast cancer survivor: just this last September, she was cleared and got to celebrate being cancer-free.
So many of Tina’s favorite things to do take place at her home, where she and her partner have lived for over 35 years. She loves to cook, sit on her front porch, watch Panthers football, cheer on Davidson College basketball, and most importantly, spend quality time with her granddaughter. Her granddaughter attends the Davidson Community School and lives with Tina for much of the week to relieve her daughter of the commute to and from Charlotte. She raised both of her children here in this home and is now proud to help raise her granddaughter in this very same home and community.
Tina’s relationship with Habitat for Humanity spans decades. Over 35 years ago, she went through Habitat’s program and purchased an older home that had been rehabilitated. Her home is over 100 years old and originally sat next to the Davidson’s United Methodist Church on Main Street before it was moved to its current location on Potts Street. She fondly remembers the construction process and all that it took to make this house a home for her and her family. Despite the many hours of work that went into making the old house a home, it has served as a haven for her family for years, all while allowing her to stay in the community of Davidson she has loved all her life. Tina is incredibly proud to have completely paid off her home 10 years ago. “I never would have been able to afford a home,” shared Tina, without the support of Habitat for Humanity.
Being such an old home, in recent years, it has been in desperate need of repairs. Tina applied for assistance through Habitat’s Critical Home Repair Program and was thrilled to be accepted. After her cancer diagnosis, she struggled with her bathtub being inaccessible. She needed something easier to get in and out of for bathing, so the brand-new walk-in shower that Habitat installed has been life changing. In addition to making her bathroom more accessible, Habitat Charlotte Region repaired the old siding on her home’s exterior, renovated her crawl space and replaced and repainted several doors throughout the home. The plumbing in her bathroom also needed updating, and Habitat eased her concerns over leaky pipes by making essential repairs. Older homes often have outdated and potentially unsafe electrical work and Tina’s home was no different. Habitat Charlotte Region’s construction team made necessary electrical updates, as well as installing new ceiling lights. In addition to these other updates, Habitat repaired and repainted her deck, allowing her family to safely enjoy the outdoors.
Habitat Charlotte Region’s team completed the work on Tina’s home this Fall. Now, life in her home is remarkably different: she and her family do not have to worry about leaky pipes, old electrical work, and she can more safely access her bathroom. Her home is more comfortable, and she loves enjoying the sights and scenes in her neighborhood by sitting on her front porch. Tina loves living in the warm, friendly Davidson community and is proud to call it home. ritical Home Repair program means she can stay in the house and community she has called home for so long, all while preserving affordable housing for her and her family. And most importantly, her home is a safe, comfortable place for her granddaughter to grow up and thrive. “It’s all for her,” shared Tina about her granddaughter. She plans to keep her home in her family and hopes her granddaughter will one day call it her home when she is grown.
Tina is incredibly grateful to Habitat Charlotte Region for giving her home a new lease on life, so it can continue to be a safe place to land for her family as it grows.
