Empowering Mothers through Homeownership

May 12, 2025

For homeowners like Benjetta, owning a home can be the key to following your dreams. Benjetta was a single mother of two by the age of seventeen and lived in public housing. She started working as a teenager and spent the next 14 years in the healthcare and childcare industries, primarily at Duke.

Although she was financially stable and able to live on her own in an apartment, she realized that continuing to pay a thousand dollars a month in rent was not sustainable. High rent prices motivated her to research homeownership opportunities. She became aware of Durham Habitat’s homeownership program and began her journey in 2017. Thanks to her strong determination, she was able to complete the homeownership program and move into her Habitat home in just 14 months.

Benjetta’s powerful sense of faith inspired her to invest in herself. With the money she was now saving on rent she was able to invest in her own business: Mother of Motivation. She began teaching free classes in libraries and sharing information at Durham Habitat homeowner events. In 2020, she was able to expand her client base offering financial and business advice, mentorship, and other services to individuals across the country. At just 28, Benjetta had achieved her dream of becoming both a homeowner and an entrepreneur.

Alongside her own business ventures, she now partners with Durham Habitat to teach financial literacy classes to new homebuyers in the Homeownership Program.

She is proud to be able to help educate her peers on budgeting, mortgage payments, and the ins and outs of becoming a homeowner. She believes that financial literacy is not just about money management, it is also about mindset. By sharing her own experience, she empowers others to take control of their finances and believe in their own potential.