DAYTONA BEACH Every night for five years, Madeline Mendez had to push aside toys, books, DVDs and all the other trappings of her living room to clear a space where she could drift off to sleep.
Just a few feet away, her three kids would snooze in the two small bedrooms inside her cramped South Daytona apartment.
It was spartan living, but it was a step up from the eight months prior to that she was homeless and bouncing from one family member s house to another to avoid living out of her car, on the streets or in a shelter.
Apr 13, 2021 5:49 AM Daytona Beach, FL - Homeownership could become more than a dream for Volusia County residents with the movement known as Homes Bring Hope. The organization, created by area business leader and philanthropist Forough Hosseini, will attack the root cause of student homelessness and food insecurity, generational poverty. Hosseini, a Senior Vice President of ICI Homes, her family’s company, says that Homes Bring Hope will work to break the cycle of poverty. Even for hard-working people, there is little chance of breaking the perpetual cycle of generational poverty unless they can find a path to homeownership and build equity,” says Hosseini. “Homes Bring Hope is comprised of community leaders who want to help hard-working people triumph over poverty, become homeowners, and break that cycle. Economists agree that escaping poverty is best achieved by building equity, which means becoming a homeowner instead of a renter.” Home
Area Business Leader Launches Homes Bring Hope 931coast.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 931coast.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DAYTONA BEACH Petra Smiley s new home isn t exactly one of those tony riverfront estates with lush tropical landscaping, a backyard pool and deck for moonlit parties, and a dock to park the family yacht.
Her house is a 1,250-square-foot concrete block structure built when Richard Nixon was president and located in a no-frills neighborhood just east of Nova Road near Bellevue Avenue.
But to Smiley, a longtime dweller of cramped apartments, it s the castle she s been dreaming of for more than a decade. The four-bedroom home has plenty of space for her and her two small children, there s a yard complete with a huge oak tree in back, a carport will protect her from the rain, and interior upgrades give the home a modern, polished look.