Kristen Nix is a determined, single mother of 3 beautiful children X’zavier (12), Ki’erah (11), and Asher (under 1 year.) She currently works as a respiratory coordinator for a medical group, and they live in an apartment in Greenville that is too small for the young family. Living in a 3^rd floor apartment can be a struggle with a young baby, and it also means that the kids have nowhere to go outside and play. However, that will all be changing. Thanks to her perseverance, Kristen will soon be a Habitat homeowner. An achievement that Kristen looks back on and says, “I made it. It means a lot for the people who know everything I’ve been through- to know that I made it.”

Kristen has truly made it through a great deal. As a child, her life was very unstable. Her mother was consistently evicted and the family had to move every 3-4 months. Eventually when Kristen was 15, DSS removed her and her siblings from their mom’s custody. From this point on Kristen lived with a friend’s family. Although this foster family was very supportive, all the instability affected her. She had to become an adult quickly, especially once she had her two oldest children while in high school. However, Kristen made the best of the situation and pushed through to get her high school diploma. Once finished, she moved to her own apartment at age 19. She felt like she missed out on her kids’ childhood because she often had to work multiple jobs at a time to support them. Her kids mean everything to her and at the end of the day, they were the ultimate motivating factor when she applied to Habitat’s homeownership program.

Kristen heard about Habitat Greenville from a friend in Easley who had gone through the program. She didn’t think she’d be able to qualify so was understandably excited when Habitat accepted her in November of 2020. She jumped right into taking classes where she “learned something in every single class,” especially the financial education classes on credit. She also enjoyed being on the build site and completing sweat equity hours in the ReStore.

Kristen views homeownership as generational change. She wants her home to be a place that her kids can always come back to. And she wants them to see the importance of that and provide it for their children one day. It is also a place where the family can have the stability to dream of a future. Kristen hopes to return to school to become a respiratory therapist and advance in the medical field. When trying to think of one word to describe home, she says, “Everything. Home is everything. It’s what everything boils down to.” Because of her refusal to give up, Kristen and her children will soon have that everything, a home of stability where they can make memories for many years to come.

Read the Maresca Family Story: Give the gift of Home!