Ilieana and her three children outside of their new Habitat home.
On Jan. 23, we gathered to celebrate a milestone moment for both Ilieana and our community: the dedication of her new home in our McNeill Village neighborhood.
“I thought maybe I would get a house when my kids were like 30—it’s amazing,” Ilieana said at her home dedication. “If you need help, ask for help. There are so many resources and beautiful people that want to help.”
Ilieana is a single mother to three children. Her home marks the first single-family house completed in Lee County utilizing Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding for post-Hurricane Ian housing needs.
“What this reimbursable CDBG-DR grant means is that once a family moves in, we’ll get a portion of those funds reimbursed to us, allowing us to build more homes for families like Ilieana’s in the future,” Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties CEO Becky Lucas said.
After Hurricane Ian, Ilieana’s family was temporarily displaced and then faced additional challenges as they searched for stable housing. With limited time and options, Ilieana moved her family into a costly third‑floor apartment with no elevator access.
John Talmage, the Director of the Lee County Economic Development Office and a Habitat Board member, presents Ilieana with the symbolic keys to her home.
Despite working full-time, keeping up with the price of rent on top of the challenges with the unit proved to be unsustainable for Ilieana.
“I felt so defeated,” she said. “I felt like I was going to be stuck there for a while, and then my dad told me about Habitat.”
Ilieana held on to hope that her children would soon have a place they can safely grow and play in. “My greatest desire is to provide stability, and create a safe, loving, and nurturing environment for my children,” she said.
Ilieana and her family now have a safe and stable place to call home.
John Talmage, Director of the Lee County Economic Development Office and a Habitat Board member, played an important role in the dedication ceremony, presenting Ilieana with a symbolic key to her new home.
“As a representative of Lee County and a member of the board, congratulations on both fronts,” Talmage said as he handed Ilieana the key.
For Ilieana’s family, the moment was surreal, particularly because the home was a surprise to her young daughter. “She knew I was doing volunteer hours, but she didn’t know this was going to be our house,” she said. “Seeing her walk around and take it all in—It just feels like it’s not real.”
