Patience, determination and transformation describe Candy Zancker on her path to homeownership in Knoxville Habitat for Humanity’s new Silver Leaf subdivision, where her home will be built as part of a seven house blitz build April 9 to 16^th, 2011.

Candy, 29, and her then-husband first applied to the program in 2008. She first heard about Habitat for Humanity through a co-worker whose daughter owns a Habitat house. The couple and their three young children met Habitat’s financial qualifications and it seemed they were on their way to homeownership.

But then, a series of unfortunate events turned Candy’s world upside down. She and her husband suddenly divorced in September 2008. And then she was laid off from her good-paying job at Jewelry Television and she no longer qualified for a Habitat mortgage.

“The day after I got laid off from my job, I got the letter of acceptance from Habitat saying I was approved into the program,” said Candy. “It broke my heart to have to put the process on hold. All I really wanted was to have a place for me and my kids to call our own.”

It was a true test of her patience.

But things seemed to go from bad to worse for Candy and her kids. Although she did collect unemployment, she didn’t make enough money to pay rent on the mobile home she rented in Halls. She recalls a question her oldest son Damien, now 10, asked her that served as a wake up call.

“He asked me if we were gonna live on the street,” Candy said. “I knew that I had to get back to work, if only just for my children’s peace of mind. To them, if mommy’s working, then everything will be alright.”

Candy was determined to put her kids at ease, and so she took a job making less money than her unemployment benefits paid her. She and her children moved from their Halls home into Section 8 housing, where they have to walk up six flights of stairs to get to their apartment.

“It’s really starting to take a toll on me, especially my knees, to have to carry groceries up all those steps,” Candy said.

But soon Candy’s patience and determination paid off for her and she was on the way towards transformation. In January of 2010, she got a short-term but better paying position with the Department of Health and Human Services that enabled her to qualify again for Habitat. She began in earnest to accumulate her sweat equity hours through educational classes.

“It really gave me a sense of hope again to be back in the program,” said Candy. “And I learned so much through the budgeting classes. I thought I knew how to budget, but through the classes I learned to look at every single think I was spending and it was an eye opener.”

Since then, Candy has focused on her financial well being. She has paid off two credit cards, two other loans, and a Rent-A-Center obligation. And in November 2010, she got an even better paying full-time position with Sitel in Oak Ridge, where she sells insurance. The future looks very bright for Candy and her family.

Her two youngest sons, Raven, 8, and Ian, 7, who now share a room, are looking forward to having rooms of their own when Candy’s 4-bedroom home is completed with the help of her Covenant Partners, which include Regal Entertainment, The Monday Foundation, Kroger and TVA.

“I don’t have much construction experience, but I do know how to hammer,” said Candy. “But I figure if someone just points me in the right direction and tells me what to do, I’ll do just fine. I’m just going to have to get lots of muscle rub to put on every day after construction.”