"The FDA did such a great job with the house. They let us help choose the color of paint and carpet, they put in a new furnace and central air unit that we were able to finance in the mortgage, they made sure there's nice bright lighting on the front porch and back porch, they connected the smoke detectors to automatically call the fire department if they go off, and generally made it a nice, safe, place we love to call home."

outgrowing their space. She and her three daughters were living in a two-bedroom house on Souder Avenue that she had inherited from her mother. As Shellie's oldest daughter was approaching her teenage years, it seemed like the four of them were always at each other's elbows. They knew they needed a bigger house, but Shellie, a librarian for the Columbus Public Schools system, was worried about living beyond her means. Buying a new home, especially one big enough to accommodate the family's needs, seemed out of the question.

That was when she learned about the FDA."I tell my friends all the time, 'you never know where you'll find your next blessing,'" Shellie says. "I found mine really when I least expected it."

She was st the Gladden Community House, signing up one of her daughters for cheerleading, when she saw a booth set up by the FDA.
"I really enjoy the fact that my kids now have room to spread out in rooms of their own, and we were able to stay in the neighborhood," Shellie says. "Some of my friends tried to tell me I could have bought in Whitehall or somewhere else for the money we paid, but there was no way we could have ever bought anything this big or with this quality. "Now if we can just more homeowners, more people who care about their homes and families and neighbors, into the neighborhood, the ones who don't will slowly weed themselves out. This really is a nice place to live."
Shellie Burris knew her family was
She discussed her situation with Dan Moorman who told her the FDA had just bought her future home. Indeed, the FDA had just begun rehab work on the four-bedroom house at 69 Meek Ave. Shellie, still doubtful she could ever afford such a house, took the girls to look at the house, and started to find themselves getting excited.
The FDA connected her with a specialist at Colonial Mortgage, who made a detailed plan to get her credit score up and finances in order by the time the house would be available, and nine months later, Shellie and her daughters each had their own bedrooms for the first time.