More Family Success Stories Contact: Homeowner Relations (650) 568-7322 housinginterest @peninsulahabitat.org Home Family Success Stories The Batres Family US Citizenship And New Peninsula Habitat Home Offer Better Future for Batres Family When Mauricio Batres, along with his son Alejandro, 13, and daughter Angiea, 8, move into their new house on San Bruno Avenue in Brisbane, they will begin a life that Mauricio says he never could have imagined. Currently living in an old, run-down apartment building in San Francisco, Mauricio, feels very fortunate to be able to provide a decent and good home for his children. "I never thought I would have a house," says Mauricio, a single dad and native of El Salvador who has lived in America since 1990 and recently became a US citizen. "Brisbane is such a nice city," says Mauricio, a "peaceful" city where they can escape the traffic and gangs of their current neighborhood and live a life where Mauricio will now walk his daughter to school and then on to his job at a local food service distribution company. "It's going to be a great life," says Mauricio, with unabashed joy in his voice. While Mauricio misses El Salvador and his family there, including his mother, a brother and three sisters - "in Spanish, we say I have my belly in El Salvador" - he will probably never go back to live there. Crime and unemployment are big problems, he says, and "for the people living there, it's a very, very tough life." Mauricio believes the United States has opened a lot of doors for him and his family. "It's a better life and a better future for my children." Mauricio was especially touched by the groundswell of help he received from so many people during the process of completing his 500 hours of "sweat equity," which is required of all Peninsula Habitat homeowners. In addition to the many regular volunteers - more than 90 percent of the labor on Peninsula Habitat homes is non-paid - 15 staff members of Spanish-language Univision TV gave their time on the construction site to help Mauricio, as did even the mom of one of Peninsula Habitat's Americorps members during a visit from out of town. "I thank God for these people," says Mauricio. "This is a thing that I will keep in my heart forever." To read more about Habitat families, please click here.