CHICAGO, IL — A Chicago woman’s first home purchase has become a milestone for the Chicago Housing Authority. Derenda Bradley recently bought a house in Roseland through the agency’s Choose to Own program, and CHA said she is the 1,000th person to successfully complete it.
The agency marked the moment with Bradley, her family and community members gathered for a celebration. Bradley said the experience meant a great deal to her, especially after a long and difficult road to homeownership. CHA leaders used the occasion to highlight what they see as the program’s broader value for families and neighborhoods.
A first-time buyer reaches a long-running CHA milestone
Choose to Own began in 2002 as a homeownership path for Chicago Housing Authority participants. More than two decades later, the program reached its 1,000th successful buyer with Bradley’s purchase in Roseland.
CHA officials said the milestone reflects steady progress for a program built around helping residents move from housing assistance into ownership. Bradley, who is a first-time homebuyer, now owns a home for herself, her daughter and her four grandchildren. The agency presented her with a surprise gift of new kitchen appliances during the celebration.
Keith Pettigrew, CHA’s chief executive officer, congratulated Bradley in front of the crowd. The agency framed the event not only as a personal achievement, but also as a sign that the program continues to work for families seeking stability and a long-term stake in their homes.
Bradley says the journey included addiction and loss
Bradley described the path to this point as difficult. She said she battled addiction and lost custody of her children before reaching the stage where she could buy a home. She told the crowd that becoming a homeowner felt exciting and that she was proud to be part of the program.
Her story carried added meaning because the day she was approved to buy the house was also the one-year anniversary of formally adopting her grandchildren. That made the purchase feel like more than a real estate transaction. For Bradley, it marked a broader turning point for her family.
Now, she said, the house offers shelter, stability and a foundation for what comes next. She hopes it will give her family a place where they can support one another through future challenges.
A new home gives her family room to grow
Bradley’s granddaughter, Amira Taylor, said the move means more than having a new address. Taylor said the family will have its own room and that she feels excited about the new house.
Bradley said the family’s new setting should come with a sense of community as well as privacy. She said her children and grandchildren have a village around them and should know they can lean on that support if life becomes difficult.
The Roseland home therefore represents more than a private milestone. It also reflects a hope for continuity, with several generations under one roof and a chance to build more secure routines after years of strain. For Bradley, that stability is part of what homeownership is supposed to deliver.
CHA leaders say ownership can change family trajectories
Jimmy Stewart, who manages homeownership programs for CHA, said the agency sees the effect of homeownership as larger than the deed itself. He said the goal is to change the course of parents’ lives and their children’s lives as well.
Stewart also spoke about the role ownership can play in addressing the wealth gap in communities of color. He said homeownership creates a foundation where dreams can be built and pursued, along with the stability that families need to plan ahead.
Stewart’s comments reflected the message CHA wanted to send at the celebration: that a single home purchase can help shape long-term economic security. For the agency, Bradley’s purchase is both a personal success story and an example of what the program is designed to make possible.
Why the 1,000th sale matters to the housing authority
CHA Chairman Jawanza Malone said the most important part of the achievement is the people behind it. He said individual progress can strengthen neighborhoods when everyday residents move forward in their lives.
That idea ran through the celebration in Roseland, where the milestone was tied to one family’s next step and the agency’s larger housing mission. Bradley’s purchase gave CHA a number to celebrate, but it also gave the agency a concrete example of the kind of change it says Choose to Own was built to support.
For Bradley, the moment marked both a personal victory and a family milestone. For CHA, it was a chance to point to 1,000 successful participants and to show how a home can become a starting point for something larger than ownership alone.
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