Updated: Jul 9, 2018
Jose was born and raised in El Salvador. He came to the United States when he was 18 years old and lived in Texas for 3 years working in construction. From Texas, Jose moved to California where he worked in construction for an additional 15 years. After living in California for 15 years, he was laid off from his construction job in 1998. One day he decided to drive to Las Vegas in an attempt to find a better job for him, so that he could support his wife and daughter.
Jose states he came to Las Vegas was able to find a job through a friend at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino as a Casino Porter. When he came to Las Vegas in 1998, he had the dream of working hard so one day he could own his own home. Jose reports he began working the graveyard shift, which was very hard for him to adapt to but he knew with some perseverance and hard work he would be able to potentially advance within his career. Today he is grateful to have the opportunity to work morning shifts. In October 2018, Jose will be celebrating his 20 year anniversary at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.
Once established in Las Vegas, he moved his wife and daughter to Las Vegas so they can be rejoined as a family. After a few years, unfortunately he made the tough decision to file for divorce from his wife due some financial issues they were experiencing. Jose stated that his wife did not have strong money management skills and it caused a strain within their relationship. Since this strain would make it more challenging for Jose to meet his future goals, he decided it would be a better decision to part ways.
Jose is currently renting a bedroom from a friend until his Habitat home is completed. His daughter who will be 18 years old soon lives with him twice a week. Jose loves living in Las Vegas because of the job opportunities that are available working in the casinos. Jose’s desire to become a homeowner is driven by the desire to have a stable home and to have the ability to retire someday without the stress of an unaffordable house payment.
Jose has a great experience with Habitat and has many other friends who have also bought their home through our program. Jose loves working at the job site because he has previous experience in the construction field. Jose enjoys the financial literacy classes because he believes they are very beneficial to him. He likes that they utilize real life examples and provides great examples and tools that will assist him in meeting his financial goals and save for his future. Jose looks forward to continuing to volunteer at Habitat after his home is completed, so he can help others to become home owners too.