Meet Leslie & Dazireah

Greenville and Nicholtown native, Leslie McRae, grew up in the area since she was seven years old. Raised alongside her two brothers by their parents, they grew up in apartments their whole lives. She can’t wait to be the first to have a home in the neighborhood where they grew up.   Thinking back to when it was rough in the  neighborhood, she said it is good to see  homes being built. “I love the area. It is all I know really.” She is glad she can continue to live close to family, especially her mom. 

Leslie originally applied to Habitat and got into the program 13 years ago with her two older daughters who are now in their 20s and working as CNAs. However, she was not able to complete her requirements after she got pregnant with her third daughter, Dazireah, who is now 12. It has been a long road in pursuing homeownership, but  Leslie did not give up because she wanted  to provide something for her girls. “I promised them a house a thousand times. We just want to live. In apartments you can’t live, you kind of live on eggshells, there are certain things you can’t do.  There’s a lot you can’t do in an apartment versus a home.”  

With the support of the Habitat family services team, she came back into the  program a year ago. It was a difficult start  due to the loss of a loved one, but she has stayed motivated to complete the program  with her youngest daughter. She stated, “I am not going to give up! Home is  something that’s mine, working hard for something. You won’t have to worry about all the extra stuff that comes with  apartments: inspections, rent going up, not  having birthday parties for my children.” 

Currently living across the street in the apartments next to Nicholtown/Heritage Hills, Leslie has been able to walk across , and do her sweat equity hours on her future  neighbors’ homes. She and Dazireah are dreaming every day about how they will decorate. She loves bright colors saying she is a “yellow, orange, green, and pink kind of girl.” With the next steps after being matched to their home, she is most looking forward to picking out the colors for her cabinets.  

“I am just excited! It’s something different because we have never lived in a house. My mom raised us in the area in an apartment. We never lived in a house, ever. We’ve always  been project based. We were raised in apartments and are still in apartments, me and my two brothers. So, everyone is excited for me to be the first homeowner. We get to have a party.”