FORT WORTH, Texas — Walls are quickly going up in the Hillside-Morningside neighborhood of Fort Worth. And with each nail that goes in, this teacher, a single working mom named Andrea Mitchell, lets herself dream a little bit more.
“I can’t wait to decorate, I can’t wait to make a breakfast nook,” Mitchell said.
By all accounts, Mitchell did everything right, went to college, got a job and put in work. But her American dream was still out of reach.
“It was kind of deflating to know that I go to work five days a week 40 hours making money paying all my bills good credit everything but I still couldn’t make enough to make a house,” Mitchell said.
That’s where Susan Devault of Habitat for Humanity and her mostly female team of volunteers come in.
“Yes, absolutely women can be in the trades,” Devault said.
This wasn't an ordinary Habitat build – Friday was International Women’s Day. And for these women, that dream is coming to life as well.
“I could see this becoming a home for someone I can see where the bedrooms are going to be, where the bathrooms are going to be and I can imagine this family living in this home,” DeVault said.
DeVault didn’t learn to swing a hammer until she was in her 60s and today she’s leading this army of volunteers.
“I didn’t think that I would be getting a house at 27, I thought I would have to wait a little bit, wait until I get married,” Mitchell said.
Soon she’ll have that house. One built by women – for women.
Building a house for women, by women: How this teacher's American dream is within reach
By all accounts Mitchell did everything right, went to college, got a job and put in work. But her American dream was still out of reach.