How Three Families Found ‘Home’ with Progress in Unexpected Seasons

Life rarely moves in a straight, predictable line. It shifts and surprises, often forcing decisions before people feel ready. In those moments, where you live becomes more than just a place to lay your head. It becomes the place where you regroup, reset and begin again. 

Across the country, Progress Residential residents are navigating major life changes. The details of their stories are unique, but they share a common thread: the need for stability and the ability to choose a home that meets them where they are. 

Starting Over, On Her Own Terms 

Bernita remembers the first night she slept in her new home. There was no bed yet. No couch. No furniture at all. 

“I had a blanket, I had my pillow and I slept on the floor… and I was just happy being there.” 

Life had shifted in ways Bernita did not anticipate. After a divorce, her children leaving for college and a period of homelessness, she was looking for more than square footage. She needed stability and the ability to figure out what came next. 

“Renting gives me that freedom to be able to decide on what the other side of the fence looks like.” 

For Bernita, an Atlanta resident, life looked very different than it once had. Having recently sent her two children off to college, going through a divorce and experiencing a period of homelessness, she was not just looking for square footage. Bernita was looking for stability and space to rebuild.  

This included bedrooms for her children when they returned from college, a dedicated space for work, and room to move forward at her own pace.  

“When I walked in… I knew it was perfect. I can’t even probably put it into words how it felt moving in. I remember just laying here and I slept on the floor in my bedroom. I had a blanket. I had my pillow. And I slept on the floor… I was just happy being there.” 

In Charlotte, Jasmine and her family were not planning a move. 

“We just recently moved from Asheville to Charlotte. Hurricane Helene came through Asheville when we lived there and it was pretty detrimental. We actually walked out of our house and we didn’t know if there was any more Asheville. It was just water everywhere. Charlotte just became that refuge for us. It’s been great since we got here.” 

After a sudden displacement, the priority was simple: find a place that felt like home again. 

“Moving in, especially the way we had to move out and move in. It was important to us to just really get settled into a place. We get everything in here, moved in here. This couch is finally set up and you sit down and it’s a relief because you feel like you felt somewhere that it doesn’t feel like I got pushed out of my home into this place. It feels like home.” 

Over time, it was not just the space, but the experience that stood out. 

“A lot of people look at things, it’s just a job, but I think that you guys really look at it as we want to take care of the people that are living in our homes. It feels like Progress really does have your back. The service technicians that we’ve experienced have really been great. When they come, they’ve gone above and beyond to make sure that we are comfortable, make sure that our issues are taken care of and in a quick manner. It made you feel really comfortable knowing that there are people that care about you.” 

For Wes and Joann in Nashville, a career move brought a quick transition and a need for something more stable. 

“We want to have a place that we can call home, that we can always, you know, entertain our family, our friends and know that we can settle here as well. We were looking for something more stable, which we found she was leaving the job in Texas and picking up a new one here, so we had to do everything very quickly.” 

They were not just looking for a house. They were looking for continuity. 

“We are at a stage in our life where our children are now young adults in their late 20s, thirties. And this is the place where we come together and enjoy each other and have our big meals. We’re very family oriented. It’s nice to have a place we can have everybody come and either stay with us or all gather here.” 

And for them, stability also meant predictability. 

“With Progress Residential, I felt more confident that this is the way we want to do it rather than renting from, you know, a landlord that lives down the street from you. You don’t know if that landlord’s going to want to sell that property in, in two years where we are like we want to be here for the long run.” 

What they found exceeded expectations. 

“With Progress being such a big company and rent having rentals all over the country, we could very easily just feel like they just wanted us to move in. Now that we’re here, we’re never going to hear from them. But you guys, the little touches and the service and the communication, we could very easily just be ignored or feel ignored and we don’t. We’re very comfortable here, which is something that you kind of worry about when you’re looking at rental versus buying a house. If you feel like you’re at home. We do. I mean, it does feel like home. Even though it’s a rental, it does feel like our house.” 

For Wes and Joann, stability is not just about staying put. It is about knowing the door will always be open when family comes home. 

Each story is different. Divorce. Disaster. Career change. But the through line is the same. In seasons of change, stability becomes deeply personal. It is not just about having a place to live, but having a place to reset, to regroup and to move forward. Having access to a home that meets people where they are, with the flexibility to adapt as life evolves, can make all the difference.