Dear Habitat Friends:   It is hard to believe that we are already approaching the Thanksgiving season.  It is at this time that many of us try to find the time to reflect on all the wonderful gifts that God has bestowed upon us.  We try to slow ourselves down in order to fully embrace the beauty of the crisp Autumn mornings, the magnitude of the color change of the trees, the migration of our local birds, the natural beauty of our local beaches, and of course the gift of our family and friends.   Nevertheless, many of us never acknowledge the gift of home ownership.  It is something we take for granted because we have been blessed with a warm house where we can come in from the cold and lay our heads down at night peacefully.  As the Executive Director of Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity and a homeless advocate I am far too aware of the many people that are homeless.  For many of us the image that we portray when we think of a homeless person is that of a bum lying on the side of a city street.  Unfortunately homelessness reaches a far greater population often being a family that is living in your community but sleeping on the couch of a friend or family member.  Sometimes they are forced to pay outrageous rents for a dilapidated rental apartment or to jump through hoops to obtain rental assistance. These are the hidden homeless and they are our neighbors but more importantly they are a vital part of our community.  Many hold job positions that enable our community to function such as bus drivers, hairdressers, teacher’s aides, nursing home aides, dispatchers, store clerks, cooks, maintenance workers, landscapers, etc.   This fall we closed on our 12th house in Jackson NJ.  This home provided Shareise and her two children with a safe and warm place to call their own.  They are no longer forced to pay astronomical rents for a dilapidated rental apartment.  Now they can put their heads down and rest peacefully in their own bedrooms and eat their meals in a clean, safe kitchen.  Additionally, on September 17, 2011 volunteers and staff from every corner of Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity came together to bless the ground of our 13th home which will be in Manchester NJ.  This house will be the home for Maria and Arvi and their three boys.  As we count our blessings this Thanksgiving let us be mindful of the gifts that we take for granted such as homeownership and let us pray for our partner families and for each other!   Happy Thanksgiving!   Blessings, Suzan Fichtner Executive Director