A full-circle moment on the east side as 15 families move into Habitat homes, turning hard work and hope into homeownership.
SAN ANTONIO — Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio and Guadalupe Valley dedicated 15 new homes Saturday on the city’s east side, marking the first homes completed in the organization’s 50th anniversary year.
The homes — including seven in the new Pope Leo Village community — were celebrated alongside the families who will now call them their own.
“We’re celebrating the accomplishment of the families,” said Michael Taylor, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity in San Antonio and Guadalupe Valley. “They completed homebuyer education courses, they all provided sweat equity. They helped to build on their homes, the homes of their neighbors.”
The development is part of a broader initiative tied to Pope Leo Village, named in honor of the first American pope and supported by a national donor effort.
For many families, the path to homeownership required major life changes.
Vanessa Juarez, a mother of two, said her family had been living in a two-bedroom apartment for seven years, where space became increasingly limited.
“It was getting too overcrowded. My kids were having to share rooms … it was just too much,” Juarez said.
After initially applying for Habitat and not qualifying, she decided to return to school to become a pharmacy technician.
“I had applied for Habitat back then. I wasn’t making good income. I was not stable,” she said. “So I did end up going to school to change and better my life.”
Now, she is preparing to move into a home that offers more space and stability for her children.
“My kids are gonna have their own backyard. We’re gonna have a safe neighborhood,” Juarez said, adding she is “so beyond grateful” for the opportunity.
For Lidia Hipolito, the moment felt especially full circle. She was previously interviewed by KENS 5 while helping build the very home she is now moving into.
“I decided to enter a Habitat program because of today’s high cost in houses. This was honestly my first choice on being able to achieve being a homeowner,” Hipolito said.
She said her children are already looking forward to making the space their own.
“My children are so excited. They can’t wait to be able to play outside and have their own room and get to decorate their own room,” she said.
Habitat leaders say the benefits of homeownership extend beyond housing, often improving families’ overall well-being.
“We see improvements in their health, their education, their employment outcomes, and it’s all because of the stability that homeownership gives them,” Taylor said.
Hipolito said that sense of stability is already taking hold.
“I’ve gotten already so attached to the house. I already have so many memories of the house and I haven’t even lived there yet,” she said.
Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio and Guadalupe Valley has built more than 1,500 homes locally, helping thousands of families achieve stable homeownership.