Carly Hudson walked into a Bradenton house on Wednesday and walked out a homeowner, becoming the first resident of Kings Crossing Place, the new Habitat for Humanity development where every home is built through the program. The moment came after home buyer and financial education classes and hundreds of sweat equity hours spent building homes across Manatee County, a requirement that means future homeowners help swing the hammer long before they get keys of their own.
Hudson marks six years clean and sober on October 7. She works for the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller and is pursuing a law degree, and she describes the home as part of her recovery journey. Her mortgage payment will be less than what she was paying in rent, a detail that lands hard in a region where housing costs keep climbing.
Kings Crossing Place is just getting started, and Wednesday marked its first completed home. Stories like this one are worth sharing, especially for anyone in recovery or anyone who has ever looked at local rent prices and wondered how they’d ever get ahead.
Do you know someone in recovery who could use a Habitat application? Give them this story, or share your own milestone in the comments.
