My husband and I always dreamed of owning our own home - a place where the kids can play soccer and T-ball in the backyard, run around with the dog, and create lasting memories. We just never knew where to begin. Our credit wasn’t the greatest, we didn’t have savings, and buying a home was a big step but Brighton Center’s Financial Wellness program helped us the entire way. They gave us the resources to overcome these obstacles and we were able to make our dreams a reality. As of May 11, 2018, we are officially homeowners.
I was introduced to Brighton Center in 2014. I was pregnant with my first born Karmen and St. Elizabeth Healthcare introduced my husband and I to a program called Every Child Succeeds (ECS). ECS is an evidence-based home visitation program for first time moms and dads that helps promote positive parenting and healthy child development. Utilizing this program taught me how to keep my child stimulated, how to enforce learning through arts and crafts and various activities, and how to utilize the different parts of the brain through these activities. My children thrived through this program and taught me how to be one-on-one with my children.
Our ECS Home Visitor heard us talking one day about wanting to own a home. She discussed other services we could utilize through Brighton Center and explained the homeownership program through Financial Wellness. In 2016, we began our journey of becoming home owners.
The Financial Wellness staff linked my husband and I to the Bright Idea IDA Savings Match Program. If we collectively saved $1,000 toward a down payment for a house, we would be matched with $4,000. While in the IDA program, we attended the Making Cents of Homeownership workshop to get a certificate of completion. During the workshop, they equip you with worksheets and a book that explains the entire home buying process from start to finish. In the Financial Wellness program, we also worked on building our credit and establishing trade lines to make the process of buying a house easier and in the long run, save us money.
Through these programs and services, I learned that saving money isn’t as hard as it seems and you don’t have be stuck with bad credit. We were capable of overcoming these obstacles that at first made us feel trapped; it just took a little initiative.
My family now has a backyard to run around in. We can watch our dreams unfold as the kids run around outside and just be kids. We have higher credit scores, a savings account, and a savings plan for the children in place. We can now say that we are financially stable and have a home to call our own!
If you do not know about Brighton Center, get to know them because they are so helpful and they get you to a stable point in life. You can feel secure for the rest of your life with the knowledge that they give you. Take advantage of the opportunities they provide because they can change your life. They changed ours.
« See All Stories