Carmen Kelly Family
Carmen Kelly has withstood the onslaught of challenges that face so many low-income working single mothers. Caring for six children she has frequently worked multiple jobs to make the burdening rent payments on apartments that were simply too small to accommodate her family. An attempted home purchase on contract went sour, leaving her with owning no home and without the sizable down payment she had made. And there were times when she and the children had no place to call home.
“Homeownership was always at the top of my dream list”, she declared, “But I had pretty much given up hope”. Then hearing of a unique program, Carmen attended a Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity information meeting, made application to the program and was accepted as a partner family.
This April, Carmen will join with Habitat volunteers as together, in a week, they build what she has termed “a place to put down roots, and remove the worry of whether I can provide a safe and stable environment for my kids”.
While her eldest children Michael (22) and Cassandra (21) are living independently, Carmen and her three youngest sons Cody (16), Dylan (10) and Brandon (7) along with daughter Jordan (14) currently live in a two bedroom apartment on Des Moines south side. Carmen works for Showtime Entertainment as a karaoke DJ, and hopes to soon open her own business.
“Habitat has provided me with an opportunity to build a foundation for the kids, we look forward to being a part of a real neighborhood”, said Carmen. “I’ve cried at so many other Habitat partner families home dedications, I can’t imagine what I’m going to be like when it is finally ours”
Carmen, with a little help from Cody, will be joined by volunteers from the Iowa Bankers Association, its member banks, Wells Fargo and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines as well as Iowa legislators and the Governors office as together they make her dream come true. Everyone involved agrees, it’s ‘A Capitol Idea’.