In April 2017, Anne had reached a personal nadir. For the first time in her life, she was homeless, having been evicted from her efficiency apartment in Massachusetts following a lost lawsuit over maintenance issues. Arriving in Portland with just three bags, she wandered the streets, desperate to find a place to stay before the sun set.

Anne was able to get a bed at Florence House, a Housing First property for women operated by Avesta Housing in partnership with Preble Street. While waiting in the reception area of Avesta one day, she came across a company newsletter. One of the stories was about a resident who, through hard work and perseverance, had purchased their first home.

“I thought to myself, ‘That’s going to be me someday,’” she said.

Anne set a personal goal to be in her own home in six years. Instead, she did it in five.

It wasn’t easy — far from it. She worked wherever she could, mostly temp jobs, sometimes walking 2 miles each way. Eventually, she moved to Bartlett Woods, Avesta’s affordable housing community in Yarmouth.

Step by step, she worked toward her goal. She improved her credit score with help from Madisen Corcoran, senior financial counselor with the Avesta HomeOwnership Center (HOC). When she thought she was ready, she took a HOC Home Buyers Education Class taught by Housing Counselor Graham Cooper — and discovered that she was not ready (at least, not financially).

So she worked and saved some more. She bought a used car to make transportation to work easier and paid the five-year loan off in less than two years. She eliminated her credit card debt. Finally, she had enough for a down payment on a house. Last October, she closed on a two-bedroom in Skowhegan with a yard, storage shed, and new appliances.

“I would like to tell people, ‘You have to keep the dream alive, and you have to be driven,'” she said. “It’s not going to be handed to you — you have to work hard for it.

“But if you want it bad enough, you will get it.”