If you have been following my blog, you know that I support Habitat for Humanity of West Virginia. Today I received information from Michelle Connor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity regarding a letter from an autistic child, Jesse Herbert, and his mother.

Habitat houses provide stability for families searching for a way to help themselves and their neighbors. They build so children can have healthy, safe homes where they can learn and grow to their full potential.   Habitat stories don’t end when partner families become homeowners....that’s where they begin.

Nine-year-old Jesse, who is autistic and has Down syndrome, has found new stability — and communication skills — in a Habitat house. I wanted to share this wonderful letter-in-pictures that Jesse sent to Habitat CEO Jonathan Reckford.


(Photo of Jesse is courtesy of his mother, Teresa Herbert.)

 

 

 

 

 

One day, nearly a year after Teresa Herbert and her son, Jesse, moved into their new Habitat home in Harford County, Maryland, he suddenly began packing all his toys into a box.                            
Jesse, who is autistic and has Down syndrome, doesn’t speak. But his mother knew what he was thinking: “It’s been about a year; it must be time to move.”
                           
Jesse’s life up to that point had been punctuated by moves, beginning with his family’s eviction from their apartment when he was less than a year old. Now, though — after years of living on the margins, years of wondering where they would end up next — Herbert could tell her son that he would always have a place to live.
                           
The new found stability has produced great changes in Jesse, who is now 9. He no longer hides under the table when other children are around. He is learning to ride a bike. And his communication skills are improving; he and his mother used a special software program that marries pictures with words to create this wonderful letter to Habitat CEO Jonathan Reckford.
                           
Teresa works hard in what she calls “a race against time” to have finances in place for Jesse’s future. Now that she can afford a stable home for him, she has returned to school with that goal in mind.
                           
She is happiest about what the house means for Jesse’s long-term prospects. “The biggest challenge for an adult with a developmental disability is housing,” she says. “I can leave him this house. This is going to enable my son to never have to worry about where he’s going. He will not need to be at the mercy of anyone. He will have a home.”

If you want to help families like the Herbert's in need of housing 

Give a Year End Gift to a Worthy Cause, Habitat for Humanity of West Virginia

 

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