Gladys Alpen celebrates paying off her York Habitat for Humanity mortgage

When the York teacher made the final payment on her home, she was in disbelief. After 25 years, she finally was mortgage-free.

​Gladys Alpen and her three daughters remember wandering through their under-construction York Habitat for Humanity home over two decades ago, dreaming about where the children would line up their favorite toys and what color they’d paint the walls.  

Through the years, that home witnessed the girls growing into young women, graduating from school, and having children of their own. In June, Gladys celebrated another major milestone. She made the final mortgage payment on the house. 
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“Well, the first thing I thought was it was a mistake,” Gladys says. “You have no idea how long I was waiting for this moment.”  

A glimpse of her future home

Gladys, a teacher at Crispus Attucks York’s Early Learning Center, became a Habitat homeowner in the early 2000s. At the time, she worked at York Country Day School and lived in an apartment in York with her husband and daughters.  

​Each day, rain or shine, she would walk to work. She remembers passing Oak Street, where her future home would be built, before she even knew about York Habitat for Humanity.  

“When I saw the house, when they started building the houses, I was like, oh, maybe they’re going to be new apartments,” she says.  

A friend connected her with York Habitat for Humanity, which soon accepted her into its homeownership program. Shortly after, she found out that one of the construction sites she had been walking past would host her new home. For Gladys, it felt like a gift from God. 
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Individuals must put in 225 hours of sweat equity, which includes financial literacy courses, budget counseling, and help to build homes. Gladys remembers working alongside volunteers, including York College of Pennsylvania students, who donated their time toward the future homeowners’ required hours. Along the way, she learned how to paint, budget, and even use power tools. 

Almost losing it all

Gladys’ homeownership journey wasn’t without challenges. When her marriage ended, she found herself raising three daughters and paying the mortgage on her own.  

“I sat down with them and I prepared them,” she says of the children. “I was like, ‘Hey girls, maybe I’ll lose the house, but maybe not. Let’s see what happens.’ But I believe in God, and I believe He provides, and He did.” 

She continued working full time in child care while raising her daughters and making steady payments, putting extra money toward the mortgage when she could. The budgeting class she had taken helped her establish that habit. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, bringing with it another wave of uncertainty.  
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Gladys’ day care center closed and she worried again that she might lose the house. But Habitat had taught her to create an emergency savings fund. With that in place, she was able to push through the most difficult months until she returned to work.  

Her hard work has paid off. 
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“I’m proud of myself. I can’t believe I did that. Let me pinch myself if this is a real dream,” she says. “It feels really, really good to be at home and, you know, you don’t have that in your mind anymore. It feels really good.” 

Benefits for the next generation​

Originally from Puerto Rico, Gladys is the first in a family of seven siblings to own a house. Her daughters say that having a home gave them a sense of security.

“I think it provided a form of stability for us. We had a place to always come home to, even as adults,” says daughter Zulmarie Escribano. 

With mortgage payments behind her, Gladys dreams about what’s next. She plans to visit her sister in Chicago and has home-improvement projects in mind. While she no longer needs fulfill her sweat equity commitment or pay off a Habitat mortgage, she still attends Habitat picnics.
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“It’s like a family,” she says. “They will be there for you.”