The Kinchelow family

Ya Landa Kinchelow will never forget the day she got the call. Picking up the phone at work recently, she received the news that her family was chosen to be one of 26 Habitat partner families participating in the 2010 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in the Twin Cities.

Upon learning of her acceptance into the Homeownership Program, Ya Landa was overwhelmed with relief, joy and gratitude. That’s because life in their current dwelling has been less than pleasant for Ya Landa and her two school-age sons, Taylor and Dale.

“Honestly, it has been a hot and miserable experience for us,” says Ya Landa. “Our new house is going to make a huge difference.”

Moving into their Habitat home will finally allow Ya Landa and her sons to breathe easier—literally. While she has dealt with exercise-induced asthma for years, Ya Landa’s health took a severe turn for the worse last winter.

Because of the poor air quality, uncontrollable thermostat and lack of air ventilation in her current apartment, she landed in the hospital with a collapsed lung. One of Ya Landa’s sons has also had to use inhalers on a much more frequent basis due to the stagnant, humid air in their current dwelling.

“To have adequate cross-ventilation and clean air in our house will be like having new lungs,” says Ya Landa.

With their Habitat home, the Kinchelows also look forward to having more space and meeting new neighbors. And perhaps most importantly to Ya Landa—who cites her boys as the driving force for pursing a better quality of life—their new home will allow Taylor and Dale to stay in their current schools.

“I am so grateful,” says Ya Landa. “A new house is going to make a dramatic impact for this family of three.”