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Published Monday, April 26, 2010 in Local

Special

Lisa Pierce, left, helps out at the Habitat ReStore on Pine Road along with a Habitat volunteer Sharon Dawson.

Hope, determination move Pierce toward Habitat home

By KATIE ANDERSON

For The Times-Herald

[This is part of an occasional series profiling families selected as Habitat homeowners in Coweta County. Some are already in their homes. Others are completing requirements -- such as completing "sweat equity" -- as part of the process. The stories are written by volunteers with Newnan-Coweta Habitat for Humanity.]

Lisa Pierce did not hesitate when asked what owning her own home means to her.

It was obvious that she has been thinking about that question on a daily basis. Thinking about her current apartment's ceiling hole, torn up kitchen flooring and mudhole for a yard, her answer was both hopeful and determined: "security, responsibility, and stability."

Those three things are top priorities for Pierce, and she is patiently awaiting the day that she gets to move to her new Habitat home.

Pierce, a 36-year-old single mother of two boys, ages 7 years and 17 months, is a supervisor in the admissions department at South Fulton Medical Center in East Point. She has worked there for four years.

Her mother lives with her and cares for her children while she is at work. Pierce is the youngest of six children and the only girl. Her father died when she was 13 years old.

Pierce remembers a wonderful childhood home in Riverdale.

Her financial problems began several years ago when she divorced her husband and she became a single mother. The split was difficult.

Fortunately, Pierce has a supportive family and work environment. She has seen several of her co-workers lose their jobs recently due to the poor economy, and she is finding ways to help them, even during her own time of financial hardship.

Pierce found out about Newnan-Coweta Habitat for Humanity through a friend.

She went to an orientation session in April 2007, but soon after was forced to postpone her plans. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had to devote all of her time and energy to seek treatment. Around that same time, she and her husband had reconciled and they were a family again. At her cancer treatment follow-up appointment, she discovered she was cancer-free and pregnant with her youngest son.

Pierce was grateful for the good news, but it was short-lived. Soon afterwards, her husband had moved out and she was on her own again.

Pierce decided to try to get a home loan on her own, and the mortgage company referred her to Habitat for Humanity in June 2007. She had a home visit two weeks later and received her approval a few days after the home visit.

Pierce started taking Habitat classes in September 2007. She learned how to budget, organize her finances, how to take care of a yard and how to save money. She also learned new do-it-yourself skills like wiring and spackling.

She went through the Family Partner process with nine other Family Partners, who she believes will be lifelong friends. They have all helped take care of each other on their paths to achieving their mutual goals of owning their own homes.

She has only 10 more sweat equity hours to complete. Most of the hours already logged were completed while she was pregnant.

Pierce dreams of her home, of her oldest son having his own room instead of sharing with his grandma like he does in the apartment. She dreams of not worrying over holes in ceilings and torn up carpet and kitchen flooring.

She dreams of planting flowers -- of children playing in her yard, rather than in the mudhole that they make do with now. She dreams of decorating her boys' room with sailboats, and is humbled and grateful to find her son's prayers for a sailboat bed answered by generous and caring co-workers.

Despite the pressure of doing it on her own, Pierce has a quiet confidence and strength as she talks about her readiness for the challenge of owning her own home. She believes that Newnan-Coweta Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful organization with which to work. She says the Family Partner program is "a great opportunity for families who need a hand up, and a great way to make lifelong friends."

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