Hands on Housing

Hands on Housing: Mary Riojas

Mrs. Mary Riojas is standing in front of the wall of art her grandchildren have created for her. She lives in her North Austin home covered in memories of her family. Her father, John Trevino, was the first Mexican-American to serve on the city council of Austin. Ms. Mary cared […]

Read More

Hands on Housing: Charlotte Cummings

Mrs. Charlotte Cummings is one of the amazing homeowners that Hands on Housing works with. The ten-year anniversary of her husband Jack’s passing was in January. Jack was an architect and his handprint is still covering Mrs. Cummings home to this day. When they first bought the home, they remodeled […]

Read More

Hands on Housing: Belinda Wilson

Mrs. Belinda Wilson is one of our amazing Hands on Housing clients! She is retired and lives alone in her lovely home in East Austin. Mrs. Wilson spends her days taking care of her home and going to her local community center. She said that she is excited to have her […]

Read More

Hands on Housing: Daniel Llanes

Daniel Llanes was one of our wonderful Hands on Housing clients who passed away in December. Mr. Llanes was entrusting Hands on Housing with repairing his beautiful home and creative space. He is survived by his daughter Carmen who, when announcing her father’s death, said he “took his place among […]

Read More

Hands on Housing: A Good Samaritan

During the 2025 Raise the Roof event hosted by Hands on Housing, disaster almost struck. The group of volunteers were planning on using their paint sprayer which would have made painting one of our homeowner’s houses much quicker. However, when the volunteers were connecting their sprayer to the hose, they […]

Read More

Hands on Housing: Christopher Estrada

Client Stories: Christopher Estrada Originally from Austin, Mr. Estrada is a jack of all trades who worked several different jobs to support his family. Through Habitat for Humanity, Mr. Estrada built the home on the east side, and is proud of creating a safe place to raise his sons. As […]

Read More

Hands on Housing: Minnie Donley

Herminia “Minnie” Donley is one of Hands on Housing’s wonderful homeowners! She and her late husband Manuel Donley have been in their home since the 1970’s. Manuel “Cowboy” Donley passed away five years ago and was a pioneer in the Tejano music scene. Mrs. Donley now spends her time with […]

Read More