It was all smiles for two Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN) families! I recently had the opportunity to attend a professional photo shoot of the residents in their newly completed homes.
Sierra (pictured above), a resident of a new home, was kind enough to share her thoughts on what her home means to her. She said that her family is very thankful to have been chosen to get one of the homes and that they had been waiting a long time for it.
“We did go off the reservation and tried to live but that didn’t work out for us,” she said. “It’s not like we couldn’t afford it, but it just wasn’t home, and we like being around our community members and knowing everyone in the neighborhood — that’s a bigger home feeling than being somewhere else.”
A ribbon-cutting event took place earlier in the day for the Southwood Estates Homes Phase II development. Read about it here.
“It is with excitement that we see our LIHTC project, Southwood Estates Phase II, coming to an end,” said Kristen L. Wamego, general manager of tribal operations for PBPN. “Our team has worked diligently alongside Travois in making this project a reality. The nation has been pleased with the progress of the project, but mostly with the opportunity given to our families in meeting their housing needs. As our community continues to grow, we look forward to our continued relationship and partnership with Travois.”
As I toured the completed units with Erin Hubbard, property manager for PBPN housing department, we visited with the residents, including Josh and his family (pictured above).
It was easy to see PBPN’s hard work and dedication in these finished homes and happy families.
“One of our biggest goals was to have a house before our kids could remember because I remember growing up in my house, and that’s all I’ve ever known was my one house,” Sierra said. “And I wanted my kids to have that. So now they’re going to know that this is home forever.”
Thank you to the residents who allowed us into their homes and shared their stories with us. Also, thank you to Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation for coordinating such a successful photo shoot and ribbon-cutting!
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It’s good the Prairie Band People build homes for the community that may not otherwise have a chance to own their own home.