New Hampshire natives Mikhial and Brionica married young and full of hope, but were hit with sudden adversity shortly after their union. Following a job loss and their home, the couple headed west to start a new life together.
They found themselves in Tres Piedras, New Mexico with a baby on the way, and a deadline to finish a small cabin with no insulation, no running water, and no reliable power. Even inside the cabin, winters were brutal, and they often ran out of the firewood that kept them warm. Their bathroom was a distant outhouse that had been blown over and destroyed twice. They learned to live off of canned and dried food since they had no refrigeration, and would make trips to town for water, laundry, baby supplies, and showers at the Youth and Family Center. Even with a 4x4 SUV the road home was often impassable, and they would have to carry supplies and their children from the highway to their cabin, which they often found flooded during monsoon season.
Despite these hardships, it was the only safe home they had ever known. But as their family grew, so did the dangers around them. Gunshots and screams on the Mesa became a constant backdrop, and both were diagnosed with PTSD from the stress of their living conditions.
They persevered and began building a proper home with plans of four bedrooms, a greenhouse, bathroom and large living area. After two years of progress and an end in site, a disgruntled neighbor reported them to the city for code violations and they were forced to demolish everything they had built. They were heartbroken and lost without a way to provide a safe home for their soon to be three children. A Habitat employee reached out and encouraged them to apply for a home, and a few months later they became a partner family, with plans for a home in the works. Today, Brionica and Mikhial reside in their Habitat home with their three children, keeping in touch with the Habitat team that helped them along the way.
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