Improving Education Outcomes For Mai’s Daughters
August 31, 2023
Back-to-school time is an exciting time for many families. But for some Durham families, back-to-school time can mean more anxiety than excitement.
Mai, a single mother of two daughters, feared that her unstable housing situation would negatively affect her children’s futures.
As rents rose, the family had to move frequently. For Mai’s younger daughter, Kim, that meant she attended three different elementary schools in one year! The rental they could afford was too small and at one point Mai and her daughters all shared one room in a house with another family.
This was already affecting her middle-schooler, Min, who found it very difficult to do homework while her little sister played in the tiny room they shared.
Mai was right to be worried. You see, the research is clear. The location and condition of a child’s home play a significant role in their physical, cognitive, and emotional development, which impacts their education.
Children from low-income households who move more than once in the early elementary years have lower reading and math scores. And adolescents who move frequently experience social and behavioral problems that reduce academic results! These negative effects of housing instability are long-lasting.
That’s why Habitat for Humanity of Durham is passionate about providing more stable home environments, but we need your help to do this.
Mai saved what money she could for her children’s future educational expenses, but most of her income went to rent, utilities, and other household costs … until moving into her Durham Habitat home. Now they feel blessed, grateful, and excited for the future!
Habitat homeownership provides:
- Consistency and stability, versus the instability of moving regularly
- Higher-quality, healthier homes that free up resources spent on healthcare
- Safer communities with better schools and more resources
Studies have drawn a line between owning a decent, affordable, and stable home and experiencing positive educational outcomes. Below, you can help provide the stability that allows homeowners to minimize disruption to their children’s education.
This fall, as the new school year begins, Mai is so grateful for your commitment to Durham Habitat and to neighbors in need. That’s why we need your help.
We’re working to complete more homes on our high-density North Plum Street micro-community this year. We want to put more Durham families in safe, stable homes by Thanksgiving break. But to do that, we need to raise $15,000 by October 31st.
Will you please make a gift today? You’ll give families like Mai’s the safe and stable housing that helps kids do better in school and gives them a better future!
Thank you for helping us build a stronger Durham!