Michelle Little-Hokea

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Michelle Little-Hokea - Saugeen Shores, ON

Six years ago, Michelle Little-Hokea and her family were renting a duplex in Durham, Ontario. Living conditions were appalling. Black mould lurked everywhere. Michelle’s six-year-old son, Donald, had asthma. One day, feeling hopeless, he told her, “I can’t go anywhere to get better because there is nowhere better to go.”

Habitat for Humanity happened to be building a home nearby. In spite of their own difficulties, Michelle and her husband, Tom, decided to volunteer their labour to help someone else in need. They thought, “Let’s help them, let’s give them that hand up, let’s really show them we’re here for them as a community to help build their home.”

That’s how they learned about Habitat for Humanity. What they found out gave them hope. Through the “sweat equity” they put into helping another family, and the determination to improve their own lives, Michelle and her husband were eventually approved to become Habitat for Humanity homeowners themselves. Four years, and two more sons later, they moved in.

For the first time, the family had a sense of hope and place. Michelle recalls the excitement on her children’s faces the day they moved in, “When we first opened the door, the kids ran into the home and picked their rooms. It was new, it was a fresh start for them. Oh, the joy on their faces.” For the first time, they had windows. A backyard. A good neighbourhood. Good schools. A chance.

“Home is a place where we have security and where my family feels safe,” says Michelle. “Owning a brand new home that a community came together to build, with their love, because they wanted our family to succeed… it’s a wonderful feeling. Being given a chance to start fresh with something to build on, and having the potential to do it, makes a big difference.”

“Moving here changed my boys’ lives, meeting all the people who helped build the house, and finding out how much this community would benefit my boys. It changed my husband’s quality of life. It’s been a life-changing moment,” continues Michelle. “It was a true labour of love.”

Michelle hasn’t stopped volunteering with Habitat since she got her own home. She says, “I think that it doesn’t just change the lives of the people you help, it changes who you are when you help someone else.”

“Before Tom got cancer and passed away, he said, ‘This home will always be a part of me, because home is the place where I can put my feet up and feel safe with my family. It’s a place to grow, and to always be able to come back to – no matter what – and say, this is my home.’ You know, we didn’t just help build our home, this home helped build us.”