Ji Yeh always dreamed of a brighter future for herself and her daughter. She wanted to earn her university degree, build a meaningful career and create the kind of secure home every family deserves. But as a single mother juggling multiple jobs while pursuing a degree part-time, those dreams often felt beyond reach.

For eight years, she and her teenaged daughter lived with uncertainty. Her rental building was aging, maintenance issues often took months to resolve, and rising housing costs left her anxious about the future. Seeing tenants in the apartment building next door displaced by renovations and rising rents, she feared her family could be next. Without an affordable alternative, she didn't know where they would go if they lost their home.

The uncertainty weighed heavily on Ji Yeh.

“I felt nervous every single day,” she recalls. “I felt like I was walking on thin ice.”

When a friend encouraged Ji Yeh to apply for Habitat for Humanity Prince Edward-Hasting's Affordable Homeownership Program, she saw a chance to build the foundation her family had been missing. Becoming a Habitat homeowner in 2023 marked a turning point.

Today, Ji Yeh pays an affordable, geared-to-income mortgage on a home where she and her daughter can finally put down roots.

“Instead of worrying about rentals, I could focus on my career and my education,” she says. “All the fog cleared out.”

Since becoming a homeowner, Ji Yeh has completed her university degree and advanced her career. Today, she supports Indigenous students while exploring graduate studies to become a board-certified behaviour analyst working with children with disabilities.

Years earlier, Ji Yeh had created what she called a "treasure map" to help visualize the future she wanted for herself and her daughter. It included goals like earning her degree, finding fulfilling work and one day owning a home. What once felt like distant dreams are now becoming reality.

Homeownership has also opened new doors for her daughter. With a safe and permanent place to call home, she has thrived academically, recently making the honour roll and setting her sights on a future career in medicine. “Home is where I can see my future … It's where we feel safe. It's where we can grow.” – Ji Yeh, homeowner Today, many of the milestones on Ji Yeh's treasure map have already been achieved. With a stable foundation beneath them, she and her daughter are charting the next chapter of their journey with confidence and hope.