Barbara Bisaro made her daughter a promise: “When we buy a house,” she said, “you can paint your bedroom whatever color you want.”

For five years, the single mom repeated that pledge.

Bisaro repeated it when she went back to work full time, leaving 10-year-old Kayla with an after-school babysitter.

Kayla heard the promise again when her mom enrolled in night classes to finish a social work degree, when Bisaro was too busy with homework to spend time with her and when their household budget couldn’t stretch to accommodate small luxuries.

The sacrifice paid off when Bisaro bought a $158,000 house in Post Falls. Kayla, now 15, promptly painted her room electric blue and hung up “Pirates of the Caribbean” posters.

“I was so tired of white walls,” she said.

The Bisaros credit the Family Self-Sufficiency Program for helping them achieve their dream of homeownership.

The program, run by Idaho’s Housing and Finance Association, helps families get off of public assistance. It’s open to anyone who receives rental assistance.

In recent years, the program has also been a bright spot in Kootenai County’s competitive housing market, where a median sale price in excess of $200,000 creates a barrier for many first-time buyers. Since 2005, 17 local families have used the self-sufficiency program to save money for a down payment. The program currently has openings.

“I don’t know how people can turn down free money,” said Bisaro, who signed up as soon as she qualified for rental assistance.

As her income grew, Bisaro paid more rent for her government subsidized apartment. Part of that money went into a savings account that eventually allowed her to make an offer on a modest, two-bedroom home.

Bette Woinowsky, a family self-sufficiency specialist, was Bisaro’s coach and cheerleader during the five years that she was in the program.

“She was determined not to give up,” Woinowsky said of her client.

The majority of the people enrolled in the program are single women with children. It’s a rigorous course, said Woinowsky, noting that program participants juggle work, school and family responsibilities.

Woinowsky helps clients learn budgeting skills, clean up their credit reports and find higher-paying jobs.

Bisaro’s financial troubles dated to a 1995 divorce. She was working as a home health care aide when she started the self-sufficiency program, but her job didn’t come with benefits or a salary that adequately provided for her and her daughter.

“My goal was to get off of assistance,” Bisaro said, “and to stand on my own two feet.”

Bisaro had completed a degree in social work at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., during the early 1990s. But the program wasn’t accredited. Through the self-sufficiency program, she was able to tap into funds that helped her complete a bachelor’s degree in social work through Lewis-Clark State College. The program also provided money for child care.

Bisaro, 39, spent two years in college. She struggled with Spanish vocabulary, shed tears over her statistics class and wrestled with maternal guilt.

“Mom, when do I get to see you?” Kayla would ask.

As Kayla grew older, the dream of their own home became more real to her daughter, Bisaro said.

They thought about it at 2 a.m., when the walls in their apartment vibrated from their neighbor’s music, and when their apartment manager told them they couldn’t have a cat.

Bisaro finished her course work and passed a state licensing exam for social workers.

She now works with adults with mental illnesses.

In late 2006, Bisaro found a house in her price range. She and Kayla moved in. They occupy the 950-square-foot home with a playful black-and-white cat named Kitten.

“It shows that if you work hard in life, you can achieve anything,” Bisaro said.