“Being accepted into the Habitat program has been one of the greatest blessings and one of my most proud achievements.”
Sonyalie Garcia has worked for 8 years in Healthcare Administration at BayCare and is also a mother to her 4- year- old son, Nathan. Nathan is a very active and energetic boy, who enjoys spending his time at the park or playing baseball. His kindness is shown through his efforts to always give back and to help others. Nathan loves playing superheroes, especially Spider- man! As a family, they love to have “Adventure Days,” where they enjoy nature and have picnics at the beach. For Sonyalie, family is everything. After having her son, she lost her father a few months after. “My dad told me before he passed away that he would have given anything to be around and make sure we had a safe home in which we can create happy memories despite the circumstances.” The words her father left her with gave her resilience to keep working hard for her family.
Sonyalie was working extremely long hours prior to her sons’ birth to be able to keep up with the rising cost of rent. However, as rent prices continued to rise, she faced the same problem as many others; she couldn’t keep up with the rising rent. With the birth of her son and difficult loss of her father, she was unable to maintain the hours she was working. This led to her moving in with her mother.
“Family is everything to me,” said Sonyalie. “I would not be the strong woman I am today without stronger women paving a path for me on how to be resilient. Nathan and I are bless to have family near us who are ready to support our journey to build our forever home.”
The support from her family was a blessing, but she had a goal of owning her own space for her and her son. “The goal is to have your own space where you and your family can feel free to make your own decisions, without the worry of how it will affect others in the home.”
Following her acceptance into the Habitat program, Sonyalie imagined a life in which her and her son could create amazing memories in a secure environment. “My son will know that his dreams will not have limits and that he can achieve them just as he witnessed his Mom achieve her dream of building their first home” Sonyalie tells us. She aims to give her son freedom to explore and experience new possibilities, and also enforce the importance of giving back to the community. “Becoming a volunteer can take you on a journey that can be beneficial and rewarding for many years to come” she explains, encouraging people who might want to become volunteers for Habitat for Humanity. For more information on how to get involved with volunteering on one of our build sites, in the ReStore, or at one of our events, please visit our Volunteer Page on our website.
“I am building because I want to show my son that by having hard work, dedication, and faith; you can achieve anything you set your mind to.”
