Thoughts on "home" and stability

What do you think of when you think of “home”? This is a question affordable housing advocate, Michael Dahl, has been asking in his "Talk About Home" project.  After hearing about Michael’s project and watching just a fraction of his many interviews, I posed the question to my friends and colleagues on Facebook. Here are a few of the answers I received:

"My own dwelling place" – Elizabeth Dempsey

"A Place to spend time with family and friends and make lasting memories" – Kelley Spencer

"Loving comfort" - Kendra Lee Denney

"My mom" – Gina Montilino

"My mom’s house" – Whitney Burg

"I think of my dog’s wet nose kisses waiting for me by the door" – Bridget Smith

"Minneapolis skyline" – Chelsea Froemming

As you can see, answers may vary, but they all come with a positive connotation. Of course, all of this led to my personal reflection. When I think of home, I think of the home I have lived in my whole life and how it is the place where I am able to relax, have fun and be safe. I think of home as being something permanent. At the same time, I think of home as something that I have that other people do not.

Despite the fact that I have always been passionate about finding solutions to end homelessness, working at Habitat has opened my eyes even further to the need for affordable places to call home. It is hard to call a place “home” when you can barely afford to pay for it. In that case, it’s not permanent; it’s something you could lose in the blink of an eye. Hopefully by continuing to ask this question,  we will not only allow others to reflect on home, but also put into perspective that  there are thousands of people right here in the Twin Cities who are still looking for a way to define “home”.

So tell us, what do you think of when you think of “home”?