Family Now Has Room to Grow in New Central Oklahoma Habitat Bungalow

(L-R) Elijah T., 9, stands beside his father, Alexander T., who holds Xander T., 2, as Stephanie T. speaks with COHFH Chair/CEO Ann Felton Gilliland. Elijah proudly holds a newly engraved Bible, a gift from the Order of the Daughters of the King at All Souls’ Episcopal Church in Oklahoma City. (Photos by Kevan Goff-Parker)

When Stephanie T. met her future husband, Alexander T., several years ago, they quickly bonded over their love of vintage cars. They soon discovered they had much more in common. Both grew up in large families, were divorced from their high school sweethearts and had children from previous marriages. As Stephanie stated in her and Alexander’s application to buy a Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity home, they were both “nervous at first to open our hearts.”

Stephanie T. and her family celebrated their home dedication on Friday in Blanchard, Oklahoma, with Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity staff, local clergy and community members.

Today, Stephanie and Alexander are happily married. She describes the family as “the perfect idea of ‘yours, mine and our children,” including Elijah, age 9, Eliee, age 5, and Xander, age 2. Stephanie is a homemaker, while Alexander is an Asset Protection Operations Coach at Walmart. Together, the family celebrated the Habitat home dedication of their new house on Friday afternoon in Blanchard, Oklahoma.

“Alexander and I grew up with large families, including him being one of nine children and me having nine brothers and three sisters,” Stephanie stated.

“With such big families, we never got a space of our own, and that’s something we, as parents ourselves, strive for now. We want to give them a space within our home to become the best versions of themselves.”

As a stay-at-home mother, Stephanie said they don’t have to pay for daycare, which saves money, and her husband works full-time to provide for the family, but finding a new home to meet their needs during the affordable-housing crisis was daunting.

Alexander T. learned about Habitat through a radio commercial. Habitat quickly responded to his application, making homeownership possible.

Alexander said he heard about Habitat’s New Home Construction program during a radio commercial and thought, “What’s the worst that could happen if they applied to buy a Habitat home.

“The worst they could say was ‘No,’” Alexander said. “I heard back from Central Oklahoma Habitat about a week later.”

He said Habitat’s Family Services staff helped guide the family through the nonprofit’s home-buying process and a path to homeownership. Because they partnered with Habitat, the T. family’s new, energy-efficient, four-bedroom home was purchased for cost and without a down payment.

“We’re able to provide a safe space for our children to grow and become the people they will become,” Stephanie stated. “We’ll be able to create memories in a new and never-lived-in-before space – best of all, Habitat helped provide that to us. We have looked at so many ways to try to give our children the life we wish we could have had, and Habitat is allowing us to help fulfill one of the best things in life – a HOME to call ours.

“Thank you tremendously for helping us to find our happily ever after!”

(Left) A photo of the T. family was submitted with their Habitat application. (Photo courtesy of the T. family)

Habitat’s 1,122nd House in Blanchard, Oklahoma

Central Oklahoma Habitat Chair/CEO Ann Felton Gilliland said T. family’s new home is the 1,122nd built by Central Oklahoma Habitat since 1990.

Potential homeowners must meet specific qualifications to be considered, including a credit score of more than 600 and the ability to make regular payments on an affordable mortgage. Applicants must also match the 2024 HUD annual income by family size guidelines for consideration.

Potential homeowners interested in seeing if they qualify to buy a Habitat home can take a one-minute quiz at See if You Qualify for Homeownership | 1 Minute Survey or https://okchabitat.com/cc-one-minute-survey/. For more information about Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity, please visit www.cohfh.org or call 405-232-4828.

(On right) A photo of the T. family was submitted with their Habitat application. (Photo courtesy of the T. family)