Living in the Evolution of The G House

From your perspective, what is home? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, home is:

1. one's place of residence
2. the social unit formed by a family living together
3. a familiar or usual setting or the focus of one's domestic attention
4. a place of origin or one's own country
5. an establishment providing residence and care for people with special needs
6. the objective in various games

...

To me, home is not a certain person, place, or thing; it is a feeling.

Home is sunshine dappled on your face.

Home is a quiet table nestled between shelves of musty books.

Home is warm, summer rain licking your toes.

Home is a bear hug at the end of a long day.

Home is skin on hardwood floors and concrete walls.

My name is Halden Levin, and in the context of The G Community, I am foremost the daughter of The G House Co-Founders, Barbara and Eric Levin. Pinehurst, NC, a small town attractive to golfers, retirees, military, and young families, was home for 16 years. As a family, we grew out of Pinehurst. Gunnar, my older brother and the inspiration for The G House, graduated from Pinecrest High School in 2016, and between 2016 and 2018, it became clear that Pinehurst did not have resources and opportunities to satisfy Gunnar's needs. That was the catalyst to move out of Pinehurst and up to Chapel Hill. So here we are. The End.

Okay, just kidding. If only it was that simple. Before The G House, we lived at a rental property off of MLK Jr Blvd. As a student at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM), I spent most of my time in Durham between 2018 and 2020, but still had the privilege of enjoying the large windows, open space, and whimsical gardens of Sycamore. Since childhood, Chapel Hill always had a special place in my heart. My mom would travel up to UNC with Gunnar for medical appointments and drop by Trader Joe's to pick up Joe Joe's and Frosted Toaster Pastries, much to our delight.

All along, my parents never forgot the main reason we moved up to Chapel Hill: Gunnar. If you are a parent or guardian of an individual with a significant disability, you can understand how, once your child transitions out of the school system, you are faced with the future, their future. My parents are often busy, both work full time, and go with the flow, letting life happen. However, they have always prioritized us, my siblings and me, and recognized how Gunnar will always require extensive care and support. As much as we love him, my siblings and I hope that we may all satisfactorily achieve independence, as interdependent as we all are and continue to be.

In February of 2019, my parents purchased the house and property at 406 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, NC. At the time, I don't believe they knew what it would become. As I said, they let life happen (a statement that is not mutually exclusive with taking life by the reins). The house (it was most definitely a fixer upper) was the quintessential grandparent abode. On school breaks, I remember sleeping in the upstairs bedroom and walking downstairs to a large plastic tarp separating the staircase from the bare-bones living room. Growing pains, I thought.

By the time COVID hit at the end of 2019, beginning of 2020, I believe most of the renovations were complete. Before studying abroad in Taiwan, I spent some time living in the upstairs bedroom, enjoying the vast forest that greeted me every morning. For once, I felt that Chapel Hill was finally truly becoming home, after Pinehurst to Durham (with a detour in China) to Chapel Hill to Durham... Then, I left for a semester of studying abroad in Taiwan, coming back in 2021 as a freshman at UNC. It was during my college years that The G House really came to be. Given all the transitions, I'm not going to lie, it was a bit of a blur.

As an undergraduate, I lived on campus, as UNC requires for freshman, and then off campus for two years with my now husband. In that time, my parents built another house, affectionately called The Birdhouse, in the backyard, converted the garage into two apartments, and welcomed three individuals with disabilities and two coaches or direct support professionals to live in what was our family house for a brief while. Gunnar has found community and lives with much greater independence. My parents continually work to refine The G House Model and expand housing opportunities for young adults with disabilities, recognizing the great need and demand. 

I have immense gratitude for my parents, for Chapel Hill, for all the families that have joined us on this journey. The G House is constantly evolving, a dynamic entity. And for me, the hope for the future is home, an evolution that I have been afforded the opportunity to live in and breathe.