Rafael & Luz Arevalo
The Arevalo family, originally from El Salvador, moved to Springfield, OR from Los Angeles in 1999 because they could no longer find adequate jobs and housing in California. They had filed bankruptcy in 1996 but still could not provide the life they wanted for their children.

After a couple of years living with family in Springfield, Rafael & Luz came to NEDCO to find out how they could go about purchasing their own home. Their first step was to enroll in the Threshold Homeownership Education and Counseling Program where they developed an action plan that included paying off their debts, saving money, and converting their car lease into a car loan. Although they had to sacrifice and work extra to save enough money to buy their home, the couple says, "We always knew that it would pay off when we finally purchased our home."

Finally, in October 2003, the Arevalos bought their NEDCO-built home. Soon after, NEDCO received a thank you note from them saying, "It is wonderful that you people are building more houses to make other families' dreams of owning their own homes come true. What we like best about NEDCO is the very nice treatment we get, the opportunity they give families with their lease-purchase program, and also the help we get to understand our credit, the ideas they give us on how to get along with others in the program, like this, we have learned to give maintenance to the houses and respect our neighbors. The classes also are good for learning how to make a budget for each month and how to make our dreams possible with success."