Two
OHFA programs make 10-year wish come true for El Reno
woman
Viola Trueluck gazes outside from the doorway of her new
three-bedroom home in El Reno.
Grasping a cane, an
elderly woman on her daily walk shuffled her way along a
neighborhood sidewalk. Stopping to catch her breath on a
low brick wall, she glanced across the street at an
empty lot.
“One of these days, I’m going to have a house on that lot,”
Viola Trueluck told herself 10 years ago.
With the help of two OHFA programs, Viola finally got her
wish. OHFA’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher
Homeownership Program and Home Investment Partnerships
Program (HOME) provided the resources to turn her dream
into reality.
In November of 2005, 72-year-old Viola moved into a new,
three-bedroom modular house on the exact spot she
predicted her future home.
“I never thought it was going to happen, but I kept on saying
it,” she said.
Viola has always been a strong believer in faith and people.
She believed in the people helping make her dream come
true, even when some people told her it would never
happen.
Viola is especially thankful to Sharon Wise with Native
American Housing Services, Inc. and Kathy Crittenden of
OHFA. In January of 2005, OHFA granted Native American
Housing Services, Inc. $224,100 in HOME funds to build
three houses.
“They went out of their way to help me get into this house,”
she said. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have this
place.”
All her life Viola has gone without many small luxuries that
most people take for granted. An ice maker and washer
and dryer were things she always wanted but could never
afford. When her house came with all new major
appliances, it meant a lifestyle change for Viola. No
longer does she have to drag home bags of ice from the
store or call someone for a ride to the Laundromat
across town.
”I don’t have to go anywhere to wash and dry clothes,” she
said with a big smile.
Viola also doesn’t have go anywhere to see her 10 children
who live in town; they come visit her. Her new house
provides plenty of room for visitors. Having her
children over for Christmas in her new house signified a
lifelong achievement for Viola.
“I always did want a home for them and everything just made
me feel so good,” she said.
“I
finally got my wish.”
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