“Our future will be different and better with a habitat home because we will finally have a consistent place to call home.”
Amanda Kostacky is a retail supervisor at CVS and a Customer Service Specialist at Pinellas County Utilities. She is the single mother to three energetic kids – Leah (12), Tony (7) and Corey (4). This family loves to explore the outdoors and their imaginations. Leah is big into riding her bike, rollerblading, and playing basketball. Tony loves taking a bike ride to the park and also enjoys saving the day as Spider-Man and Black Panther. Leah and Tony are also making their mom proud in the classroom as they are both on the honor roll. Then there is Corey, who takes after big brother Tony with an affinity for The Avengers. Corey doesn’t mind turning into the Hulk when the situation calls for it. He loves dinosaurs, especially T-Rex.
One thing Amanda is looking forward to the most about her Habitat home is the end of moving around all the time. “Everywhere we have lived has been temporary and never really felt like home,” said Amanda. The Kostacky’s current living situation is a cramped two-bedroom apartment. They have had to battle the consistent rent increases and the deteriorating living conditions such as mold and unresolved maintenance issues. Another big reason for needing a home is privacy, which right now is non-existent, and with growing children at different stages of development, Amanda is hoping to give them each the space they need.
When Amanda found out she was accepted into the Habitat homeownership program, she thought she was dreaming the whole experience. “I feel like my late father was watching over us when we got in,” said Amanda. “It was such a pleasant surprise and now we can go accomplish this important goal that will better our lives.” Amanda is ready to create new memories and provide a place her kids can always come back to as they get older. It will be their safe haven.
Amanda wants anyone out there looking to get involved with Habitat to know how much she and her fellow homeowner candidates appreciate their support. “This is such a great program and the way the community impacts our lives is so special,” said Amanda. “You can volunteer on a build site and help build someone’s forever home.” Amanda encourages those who are interested to click on the volunteer page of our website.
Amanda is ready to become a homeowner and has been working hard to complete 350 sweat equity hours and learn about being a successful homeowner by taking 32 homebuyer education classes. Whenever she gets tired or wants to just take a timeout, Amanda reminds herself to keep going. “No matter how hard it may get, keep pushing and never ever give up. Those keys are coming.”
