Alex and Eva Dominguez’ journey to Sea Island Habitat’s Brownswood neighborhood is one marked with long-standing friendships and family ties.

Alejandro’s brother has lived in Brownswood for over a year and they submitted their application alongside two of their neighbors from the trailer home community where they lived in North Charleston prior to moving into their new home.

This hardworking couple, originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, moved to the Charleston area 10 years ago and have since struggled to find a decent place to live and raise their two girls. According to Alejandro, he saw how happy his brother was in their Habitat home, and how beautiful their home was, and so he thought “Why not us? We can be happy there too.”

Soon thereafter the family launched their application process. The couple’s two daughters, Jaqueline, age 9 and Jocelyn, age 5, love their new neighborhood. They moved to a new school when they changed neighborhoods, and Eva is thrilled with this new school. She cites more activities, more participation and involvement from the other parents and teachers, and more time spent outdoors as reasons why this new school outperforms their previous school, and for that she is very grateful.

After twenty years of living in the United States, this hardworking couple has achieved the American dream of homeownership, and what a spectacular home it is! After obtaining the keys to their home in June, Alejandro and Eva, with the help of friends and relatives, spent July and August working through the hottest months of the year to custom decorate and refurbish their home to their exact wishes.

Stepping into their home, one can see it is truly a work of art. The best part of the experience for Alejandro was the pride he feels in his home; that they as a family bought it, built it and own it. That pride made it possible for him to work so hard on their home. For Eva, the best part is how happy this home have made their little girls, and the pride they feel when they have their friends from school over to the house that they have made their home.