Seven-Year Effort to Buy First Home Pays Off

MIDDLETOWN – It took Magahen Jackson seven years to fulfill the American Dream of buying her own home and moving her family out of their small Middletown apartment.

With the aid of programs through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the City of Middletown and PathStone, a home assistance counseling agency, and M&T Bank, Jackson was able to purchase her four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 51 Liberty Street in Middletown earlier this year.

On Thursday, the regional director of HUD, Lynne Patton, came to the Middletown area to honor the Jackson family for their achievement.

“I really do want to thank you, Magahen,” Jackson said. “You show everybody in this room what is possible if you really try.”
Mayor Joseph DeStefano said it is families like the Jacksons that breathe life into smaller cities.

“The revitalization of small cities especially, in this country, is dependent upon home ownership, a revitalized middle class; when they own a home, they are more involved in the community,” the mayor said.

June is National Homeowner Month. Patton wanted to shine a spotlight on the program and the local woman’s success.