Denise

Life-long learner Denise has always looked for ways to make the best of any experience and access all the resources available to her and her family. It’s hardly a surprise that she’s also an educator, currently teaching at the Martin Trust Partnership in Education for Early Learners in Brookline after years of teaching in Boston Public Schools. Denise has been with her husband for 18 years, and is a mother of three children: Sedric, Masien, and Ava.

Denise and her husband have spent years working towards their dream of becoming homeowners. They had over three years of savings built up for their down payment when life threw them a curveball: their son was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, which caused medical complications that he still experiences today. Suddenly those savings went to paying medical bills instead. Denise and her husband had to start saving all over again.

Nevertheless, Denise kept looking into her options to realize her long-term goal of homeownership. Then, she received a flyer from her housing provider about the Compass FSS program with Metro Housing|Boston. Denise decided the FSS program would be a great way for her to kick her savings into high gear. “The biggest incentive of this program is that even if you start paying more in your rent, that money doesn’t just disappear. It comes back around again to you. I can’t think of anything else like the Compass FSS program that helps people in this way!” 

Denise started working with her financial coach at Compass, Carla, who was able to first help her organize her finances and navigate options for student loan forgiveness. Enrolling in the student loan forgiveness program was a huge step for Denise, since her many years serving as an educator will set her up to have a significant portion of her loans forgiven in the future.

Denise shares about her relationship with Carla, “Her energy and positive attitude make me feel like I can do it, even though this journey can feel so long sometimes. She’s very supportive and explains things in a way that is very concrete and clear. Through everything she’s been my cheerleader. And I don’t have to wait until my next appointment to talk! If I have questions, I can just send her a text or an email and she’s right on top of it.”

Buying a home is critically important to Denise because she wants to be able to pass it on to her children, especially her son Masien who has a form of autism called PDD – Pervasive Development Disorder. “When we get to be homeowners, I will be completely ecstatic. I’ll finally be paying for my own happiness, and not someone else’s. I’ll have generational wealth for my children, so they don’t have to go through all the ins and outs of renting. I’ll know they’ll have housing stability even after I’m gone – they’ll always have a space they can call home. It’s especially important for me to have a home for Masien, because I need to set him up for long-term housing stability.”

And this summer, Denise finally achieved her dream when she and her family bought their first home in Hyde Park, Massachusetts.

Denise shares about her experience, “We are truly blessed to have gone through this process and our biggest dream has come true. Owning a home gives you a different swag to your step.”

We are ecstatic for Denise and her family on this amazing step in their journey. Congratulations Denise!