Sonya Kemp has lived in her home at 1127 27th Street  in Tuscaloosa, Alabama when the April 27th tornado hit. At the time, she was only renting the home.  The house was not in good condition before the storm, and was in horrible condition after the tornado damaged it.  The landlord didn’t make any repairs.  The plumbing was not functional, the electricity only worked in half the house, and the roof leaked so bad that Sonya had to sleep in her car when it rained.  Sonya repeatedly asked the landlord to make repairs to no avail.  He finally got tired of dealing with her and deeded the property to her, but no repairs had been done. 

 

In 2016 Sonya applied to Habitat for Humanity of Tuscaloosa for repairs, but we determined the house was beyond repair.  At that point she applied for a new home and was chosen as a homeowner.  McAbee Construction donated the demolition of the old house and the debris removal, and Sonya moved to a foreclosure home Habitat Tuscaloosa owns while she waits for her new home to be built.

Sonya has worked full time at PECO Foods for over 10 years. She raised her children in her old house and her children are now grown. 

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