House    James and his family have come a long way in just five years.  Five years ago, they had nothing; today, they stand proud in front of their beautiful new home.  James and his wife, Kathy, tell the amazing story of how they rebuilt their dreams after having them torn away.

    At one time, James and Kathy had been living a quiet rural life.  They were both employed full-time and were building a new home for their family.  James was able to build the home himself, and spent two years working on it.  As he neared the end of construction, he fell from the roof on a rainy day and injured his back.  Because he could not work, he lost his job as a lead welder, which he had held for 17 years.  James and Kathy had not insured their new home against this kind of tragedy.  They lost the home, their two cars, the trailer they were living in while the house was under construction, and faced bankruptcy.  After losing everything, they had nowhere to turn.  They had just enough money left to move into a rented trailer with their five children. 

     In August 2001, they applied and were approved for rental assistance through the Housing Choice Voucher program at WCCA.  Over the next three years, they gradually increased their income--Kathy worked from home as a medical transcriptionist and James was approved for Social Security disability benefits.  They began to dream again of owning their own home.  In March 2003, they enrolled in WCCA’s matched savings program, SavingsPlus.  They faithfully saved money and attended money management workshops, focused on budgeting, set-aside accounts, and credit repair.  They also worked diligently with Consumer Credit Counseling to improve their credit rating.  Within one year, James and Kathy had saved $2,000!!!  With WCCA’s match of $3,000 and a generous $1,000 gift from First Citizens Bank, James and Kathy had enough money for a downpayment on a new home!home

    In reflection, Kathy said, “The biggest thing to me is not so much the money we got, but the education that saved us the most money.”  They also admit that it took a lot of work to save money and repair their credit; however, James believes “anybody can have what they want if they want it bad enough.” 

“Thank you for making our dreams come true!”

Thanks to our community partners--- CCCS, Earle Insurance, First Citizens Bank, Housing Assistance Corp., N.C. Extension Service, RBC Centura, WCCA staff---who helped make James and Kathy’s dream come true!