Elaine
On September 11, 2001, Elaine watched the planes slam into the World Trade Center from her office window in downtown Manhattan. The devastation of that day continued many weeks after the buildings fell as people attempted to return to work in the midst of toxic dust. “The smell was still there for a long time,” she remembers. “It was horrible.” Eventually, Elaine realized that her children and her health were suffering as a result of the physical and emotional trauma of the terror attacks. She packed up her family and moved south, landing in Raleigh in January 2007.
Elaine lives in a small and somewhat drafty apartment where she spends much of her time cultivating a recently discovered passion for crafts. Her closets are filled with birdhouses, jewelry boxes, prayer boxes, sewing, crocheting, and other homemade gifts. “Once I turned fifty,” she laughs, “I realized I love to work with my hands.” That has come in handy on the Habitat worksite, where Elaine has already volunteered on four different houses. This spring, Elaine and her daughter will begin building a new home for their own family. Elaine can’t wait to move in so she can decorate and plant flowers outside her front door.
“I always wanted a home of my own and couldn’t afford it,” she says. “I pay over half of my income on rent. When I have my home, I’ll never have to worry about the rent going up.” Elaine is the partner homebuyer for the 2011 Women Build home. Being a part of this special project is especially meaningful to Elaine. When she was chosen for the Women Build home, Elaine said “It was just like all these women came together and said, ‘Let’s see if we as women can do this thing for her.’ It was just spectacular! Every step has been like a miracle.”
Elaine beams with excitement when she talks about building her new home: “I wish they’d let me work on it every day!” But it isn’t the actual house that means the most to Elaine. “A gift this wonderful is something my children will always have,” she says confidently. “I want my kids to be good people, good stewards, and always have some place to come home to. We are always going to have this house. If you’ve always had certain things, it seems like the norm. But to me, it’s beautiful. It fills me inside to bursting!” She is thrilled to be able to pass the gift of a home on to her children and grandchildren, calling her women-built home “a legacy” she’ll be proud leave her family.
Elaine continues to struggle with her health after breathing in the smoke and dust in the awful days that followed 9-11. As our country acknowledges the tenth anniversary of the attack this fall, Elaine will be finishing up a safe, energy-efficient home where she is able to care for her family and for her own health. “It’ll take away a lot of worries,” she says. “I have a lot to be thankful for.”