ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – Helen Johnson took a trip to Jacksonville 25 years ago that changed the trajectory of her life.
She fell in love with the beaches during her vacation and filled out an application for an apartment before she returned home to the Bronx. When she received the call that the apartment was hers and she could transfer with her job, she moved to Mayport.
She’s hoped to be able to save up to buy a home ever since. A divorce, working as a single mother and paying her bills, made it nearly impossible until she applied for help through Beaches Habitat for Humanity…