Habitat for Humanity East Bay

The Guardado Family

Patricia and Jorge Guardado, Habitat East Bay’s third partner family, always knew that owning a home would provide their family the financial security and stability that they needed to thrive. The problem was that they could never get ahead despite the fact that they both worked full time.

As a new family with few financial means the Guardados were constantly forced to settle for rental houses that were located in dangerous places, and were harmful to the health of their newborn children.

Patricia recalls a night before their family moved into their Habitat home; the night she brought her first child, Jose, home from the hospital. Just after putting him down to sleep, a stray bullet shot through Patricia’s bedroom window, pierced through the bedroom wall, and lodged itself in the wall just six inches above her newborn’s head. The local drug gangs had permeated the neighborhood and warring for territory. Patricia, Jorge and their neighbors felt as if they were held hostage in their own homes. It was no place to raise a family.

"One of the things about owning a home is that you’re no longer fighting against life. A home is a refuge to reflect on who you are, and what your values are,” says Patricia. “Your surroundings have a way of defining you, and when you are enriched by your surroundings, not fighting them, you can concentrate on what you can achieve; that you can be the person you want to be. This is what I wanted for my kids."

In addition to providing a sanctuary for her children’s development, their home also provided extra savings for the family. Understanding that education leads to a better future, the Guardados quickly invested their additional monthly savings into better schooling for their children, which surrounded them with peers and mentors who challenged them to think more broadly about how to accomplish larger goals.

Fast-forward 20 years: the Guardados are happy to see that their eldest son now owns a house with a family of his own and that all of their children have grown up to be strong individuals pursuing their own dreams. Patricia returned to school to get her graduate degree, and achieved her dream of becoming a teacher. All of this, Patricia says, is attributable to the stability and safety of their home.