Meet the Myers Family
My name is Michele Myers and I work in Medical Social Work, specializing in seniors and their families. For the past six years, I have been working as a home health aide. For many years it has been my two daughters and I. We’ve lived in a few different states over the years. We came back to Southwest Michigan when the girls were very young to be closer to family. Many homes we’ve lived in weren’t always wheelchair accessible for Brittney, but we always made do. I’m so grateful to be close to my family and for their support of me and my daughters.
We heard about Habitat for Humanity while we were shopping at the ReStore one day. As a family, we felt we needed a Habitat home because we need a wheelchair accessible house that is safe, healthy and affordable. After having lived in Ann Arbor for a couple of years with a family member, I thought I would never be able to afford an accessible home near my daughter’s doctors.
I am so very proud and grateful for both of my daughters. Brittney, my youngest, now 31, received her first manual wheelchair in kindergarten. She has always been very active and never let her chronic illness (Muscular Dystrophy Type SMA III) slow her down. She played girls’ basketball, archery team, field hockey (goalie), forensic team, high school tv/radio program, band, jazz band, and marching band. She completed her sophomore/junior year at an art college in Savannah, GA. before she suffered a traumatic brain injury in a pedestrian accident and had to put everything on hold in 2014-2015.
In 2016 we moved to Ann Arbor to be closer to Brittney’s doctors at the University of Michigan Health Systems. Brittney had a couple of hospital stays the past few years but seems to be doing a little better now. She is taking one class this fall at WCC as a tester to see if she is well enough to get back on the college track. Brittney’s goal is receiving her bachelor’s degree in Animation and getting a good job, advocating for others and someday have a rescue home for dogs. In February of this year, Brittney received her 3rd service dog and so we moved to Ypsilanti in March of this year, to a more accessible apartment. This was so Brittney could gain as much independence as the new apartment would allow and in caring for her new service dog.
Heather, my eldest is 36. She sacrificed and served our country, to be a part of something bigger than herself. This year Heather graduated college using her Navy GI Bill and moved to Arizona for a computer software engineering job. In the Navy, Heather was forward deployed in Japan for three years as a deck mechanic on a hovercraft. Then she was a mechanical gas turban engineer on a guided-missile destroyer for the next three years. Even though Heather won’t be living with us, I know she is happy and excited that her sister is living in a safe, healthy, wheelchair accessible home.
My goals as a parent have always been for my daughters and myself to live happy, healthy lives engaged and in service in our communities to our fullest abilities. Unfortunately, we’ve had a very difficult time in our new apartment. Things were stolen, we’ve had several leaks with mildew and mold, for months we had a broken refrigerator and water heater, and recently someone tried to steal our wheelchair accessible van. Lastly, our gas/electric bills are very expensive even when we didn’t use the air-conditioner all summer long.
We would love to have our own home that we could entertain all of our family and friends in. I look forward to planting a small accessible flower and vegetable garden. Lately, I have really enjoyed learning all types of new skills while partnering with Habitat and I look forward to learning more in the future. With a heightened new confidence as well as all these new skills, I believe I can take on any future home projects I choose to tackle. Once we have our own home I plan to pay it forward by continuing to volunteer with Habitat, because it’s an amazing experience to have people help you while you’re helping someone else. It’s such a beautiful gift. A home is every day where we live. That environment affects us all in every aspect of who we are and how we see and interact with the world. What a wonderful thing it is to start and end your day in a safe, healthy, happy and affordable environment.
My daughters and I are truly grateful to all of our volunteers, CBS channel 62 and especially Women Build 2020, in helping build our home. It’s such an amazing feeling of goosebumps and tears of joy. Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone!! I believe Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley is looking out for all of us as well as the community; like wrapping their angel wings around us and lifting us all up together, empowering each family, one at a time. Thank you Habitat!!!