By Promari Kris Olan
As a young girl, I’d always dreamed of having my own home. I would draw some house details that I wanted and that’s why I was beyond happy when I got my house that New Economics for Women helped me to have. There are details that are the same as what I was dreaming of – the stairs and the skylight. The savings that I had during my early RN job – which was from a below-average income compared to what I could make here in California – was not enough to purchase real estate due to high price and competition. When I found the newly built house that I wanted and the fact that there was financial help to get it, I was determined to get it.
The seminars offered by NEW that I got into -which were requirements of the NEW CASA project to get the house -were indeed a mind opener for a first-time house buyer like me and it gave me confidence that I can have the house without being stressed out on making the needs met.
As a result, I am enjoying my house and at the same time, I am enjoying my duty as a Registered Nurse taking care of the sick and promoting health and wellness. My house is too big for me, so I had my parents live with me so I have peace of mind that we can see and take care of each other. My parents are enjoying my place, especially the backyard which my father and mother turned into a vegetable garden so we could have truly organic vegetables which we share with our neighbors, friends, and relatives.
Believe it or not, the herbs that they planted were the reason we believe we didn’t get COVID despite me working in a COVID unit at the hospital, especially during the COVID surge. We use it as an herbal tea and I would also use the steam to clean my airway, especially after my work in the COVID unit, or whenever we went outside without a mask and felt the hazard of the virus. My place kept my mental and overall health intact during lockdown and pandemic, so I was able to face the battles we had at the hospital with fierceness. My nieces love my backyard, too. Whenever they visit us, I am delighted that at a very young age they are able to appreciate the good harvest and the space and freedom they can enjoy safely. There are so many happy memories created since I got my home, and these are only a few of them. I hope there will be more people that NEW CASA can help own homes, especially during this time.
