Take a Look at Langston Park Today
Maurica Is Building with Purpose
Today, it is a driveway and a foundation.
In a few months, it will be home.
But for Rica, this place already means more than wood, concrete, and plans on paper. It is a future she has been working toward with intention. A future she refused to stop chasing.
She first heard about Atlanta Habitat through her mother, who had once researched the program herself. When that path did not work out, she encouraged her daughters to try. Rica took that encouragement and ran with it. Month after month, she applied. She set alarms, used two phones, built a system, and kept trying until the door finally opened.
That same spirit has shaped every part of her journey since.
Rica believes in structure, balance, and having a plan. She works two jobs, supports her son's demanding sports schedule, and still found a way to complete her sweat equity hours through an organized family effort.
"It was hard," she said. "But we made it happen."
When it came time to choose her home at Langston Park, Rica did not rely on a map alone. She visited every available property, studying the details, and paying attention to how each place made her feel. She was looking for the home that felt right for her family. And when she found it, she knew.
Right now, Rica and her son are living with her mother, a season she describes as a blessing because it has given them room to save and prepare. But this next chapter is different. This will be a home shaped first by their energy, their care, and the life they will build together.
She speaks warmly about the classes that have helped prepare her for homeownership, calling them thoughtful, practical, and necessary. In a family where homeownership has not always been common, this journey feels bigger than one move.
And through it all, she has not been walking alone.
Her mother has been a steady voice of encouragement, and her son has been right beside her, helping with sweat equity hours, balancing school and sports, and pushing forward with her. When she talks about him, you can hear gratitude and pride in every word.
As Carter Work Project approaches, Rica says her emotions are a mixture of excitement, nerves, anticipation, and joy. But what sits underneath it all is hope and the overwhelming feeling of watching something she has worked so hard for begin to rise in front of her.
Out of discipline, a mother's encouragement, a son's support, sacrifice, and Rica's refusal to let go of the future she saw for herself, this will soon be home.
Why Atlanta Has to 'Build Different'
Affordable housing is one of the central issues shaping how and where people live, work, and plan for their future in Atlanta.
In the 2025 Metro Atlanta Speaks survey, housing affordability ranked, for the first time, as the biggest problem facing metro Atlanta, surpassing traffic, crime, and the economy.
That concern reflects daily life for many residents. According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, the region's housing challenges are driven by a mix of limited supply, rising population and job growth, the loss of affordable units, and increasing cost burdens, particularly for renters. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta adds that stable, affordable housing supports economic mobility, while households with lower incomes have fewer options as costs exceed affordability standards.
The City of Atlanta is responding. Mayor Andre Dickens has set a goal of building or preserving 20,000 affordable housing units by 2030. Across the city, solutions take many forms, including rental housing, preservation, public land strategies, mixed-income development, and response to housing insecurity. Each plays an important role in a city growing as quickly as Atlanta. Atlanta Habitat brings a distinct and deeply needed solution to that larger effort: affordable homeownership.
Homeownership can create a foundation that lasts for generations. It offers predictability, financial stability, a chance to build equity, and the opportunity for families to put down roots in the city they love. In a moment when so many Atlantans are worried about affordability, Atlanta Habitat is not only addressing housing needs, but also creating pathways to ownership, community, and long-term belonging.
That is why this moment matters.
The Carter Work Project is not just about what is built in one week. It is a visible, hopeful response to one of Atlanta's most urgent concerns. For volunteers, every hour given becomes part of a citywide effort to show that affordable homeownership, and a more inclusive future for Atlanta, is still possible.
