Khadijah Puckett
Khadijah Puckett never had anything in life handed to her on silver platter, but that has certainly not stopped her yet. Growing up in the Philadelphia Housing Authority Developments, Ms. Puckett witnessed firsthand the effects alcohol, drugs, and an abusive relationship had on her family. “My mom always took care of us and wanted to give us something better, sometimes she just didn’t know how,” said Ms. Puckett. Without the presence of a father in her home, Ms. Puckett stated she developed low expectations for other men involved in her life. And after a series of unhealthy relationships, Ms. Puckett realized something had to change. “I had put up with enough abuse, both physical and mental. I was afraid for my kids and most importantly I realized I wanted them to have a better life than I did.” So she left the relationship and went to an emergency shelter. “I was only in that first shelter for four months but during that time I got my mind and my sanity back. I learned how to really receive peace from God,” said Puckett.
She was so committed to reclaiming her life that she was accepted into Sojourner House, a transitional housing organization providing support to domestic violence victims and their families, after a few short months in the emergency shelter. At Sojourner House, Ms. Puckett stated that for the first time in her life she finally felt like someone was looking out for her. “We had 9 pm curfews at first and a lot of the other women would complain about it, but I kept thinking this isn’t so bad- I don’t have anywhere else to be -that I really should be- anyways,” said Puckett. She also credits the weekly women’s meetings to being a huge part of her success, “every week we would share our stories, we’d cry together, but mostly we grew together.” While there Ms. Puckett continued saving, something she had never really done before entering the shelter, and obtained her CDL license through her Welfare to Work program.
As her two years at Sojourner House slowly began to come to a close, Ms. Puckett and her case worker searched diligently for further housing options. They came upon the Dignity Housing Future Homes Program, into which she was accepted in October 2006. The Future Homes Program is a joint effort established in 2006 between Dignity Housing and the Philadelphia Office of Supportive Housing with the goal of placing formerly homeless families in homes that they will purchase from Dignity Housing at the end of the 18-24 month program.
Since her acceptance into the Dignity Housing program, Ms. Puckett has taken huge steps to becoming a first-time homeowner. She started paying utility bills for the first time, opened a credit card account, and applied for direct deposit with her employer. Ms. Puckett said, “Before I came to Dignity I always thought that having a credit card or getting direct deposit was only for people with a lot of money. The staff really uplifted me and made me realize I too can do any of those things.” Ms. Puckett has worked at Avis Car Rental at the Philadelphia Airport for the past year with a recent promotion in her work schedule resulting in day-time shifts. She continues to save, as part of her monthly savings plan, and has accumulated over $5,000 during her year and a half in the program. “This is the first house I’ve ever lived in. I want this house! I’m willing to work for it. I’m one of those people that if I need to do more just tell me and I’ll certainly try as hard as I can to get there.” said Ms. Puckett.
As she gets adjusted to her new work schedule, Ms. Puckett hopes to enroll in adult education classes to help her obtain her GED. She is also looking forward to learning how to garden and decorate her new home. “I want to keep this stability up for my family. We’ve moved around so much before it’s just nice for my kids to have a real home this time.”
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