Mom's 'Secret Wish' For A Habitat Home Comes True

For five years Jack Sutfin helped build homes for other people as a site supervisor for Habitat for Humanity.

Now Sutfin, his wife Rebecca and their children Edward and Cassandra have a Habitat home of their own. Their Dryer Avenue home was dedicated Friday morning.

When Sutfin started at Habitat, his family had a home in the Largo area. Then the Sutfin's son Edward was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. The family could not afford the state insurance premiums so at the time of the diagnosis they did not have insurance, the Sutfins said. 

"We did own our own home. Diabetes treatment is very expensive. We lost our home. Getting insurance (after the diagnosis) was the choice we made. Taking care of our kids was the priority," Rebecca Sutfin said.

Rebecca's "secret wish" became having her own Habitat home.

"Jack spends all this time building homes for everyone else and now he has one," said Robin Macar, Communications Director for Pinellas Habitat for Humanity.

Jack Sutfin loves what he does at Habitat.

"I love working with all the volunteers. I love putting children in safe and economical homes," he said.

The Sutfin's qualified for the Habitat home through the regular process of income requirements, sweat equity and homeownership classes.

The Sutfin home was the 249th Habitat Pinellas home and