Kameron has been waiting to move in to her new townhome for nearly three years. She first heard about Habitat Charlotte Region’s homeownership program back in 2018 from a friend who lives in Cornelius. Kameron was young and working on building her credit but always wanted to own a home of her own so she decided to apply.

She was preapproved for the program and started classes when she unexpectedly became very sick and was out of work for a couple of months. In August of 2018, she was going to have surgery to resolve what was making her so sick, but found out that she was pregnant so undergoing surgery would have to wait until it was safe for her and her baby girl.

Kameron spent a lot of time at the hospital and a lot of time recovering from her surgery but that didn’t stop her from remaining in the program and she couldn’t wait to finally have the chance to select her lot. She wasn’t expecting to choose a townhome on E. Mills Ave, but when the team offered it to her, she prayed about it and decided she would make it her home.

The affordability and tight-knit community feel of being close to her neighbors attracted her to the townhome properties. She’s formed a strong friendship with Amber, a fellow Habitat Charlotte Region homeowner who will also move in to a townhome on Mills Ave.

“I go by every Friday to check on my house and I can see the finish line,” she says. Kameron and her daughter Zhavia, who is now two, will have her own room with plenty of room to play inside, and the shade of a large tree that stands in front of the townhomes to play under outside.

Amber was born and raised in Cornelius. As a graduate of Johnston and Wales, she works as a nutritionist at a local charter school during the week and as a cook for a hospice and palliative care facility on the weekends.

Like Kameron, she also applied to Habitat Charlotte Region’s homeownership program a few years ago with a dream of owning a home of her own, with an affordable mortgage and more space for her and her son Cadence. She knows other homeowners who have gone through the program and knew how much she could benefit from the homebuyer education classes that would prepare her for all of the responsibilities that come with homeownership. “It’s time for me to branch out on my own,” she says.

So when she was presented with the opportunity to purchase a townhome on Mills Ave, she didn’t look at anything else. Cadence will have a room of his own, with colors from the rainforest. Amber is planning to carry those tones throughout their home and will enliven the rooms with plants and other things that make her happy.

Kameron and Amber have grown close throughout their homeownership journey, supporting one another and keeping up with the progress of each other’s home. This week, they were able to celebrate along with Habitat Charlotte Region staff, members of the community who supported the townhome project as well as two other homeowners who will soon call E. Mills Ave home.