SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Several families have new homes Monday, thanks to Habitat for Humanity.
The nonprofit organization gave away nine homes to families in Seminole County.
After a long process and hours of labor from volunteers, completed Habitat homes were presented to deserving families in Apopka, Sanford and Oviedo along with six homes in the Antigua Bay community in Casselberry.
"It is me and my husband, and we have custody of three of our granddaughters," said new homeowner Connie Conway.
Conway was recently diagnosed with cancer and said after a set of unfortunate events, her family were left homeless and had to sleep in a motel while she and her husband worked to raise their grandchildren
"My husband had a stroke and it takes a while to get on disability, so we ended up losing everything and we ended up in a motel," Conway said.
Ieesha Flowers and her husband, Bryan, told WFTV they were thrilled to move into their new Sanford home with their two children.
"It is overwhelming. It is really nice. I am really grateful," she said.
Ieesha is a retired Army veteran who was injured on duty. The Habitat home comes with an interest-free mortgage.
All of the chosen families underwent a long process where they first needed to qualify. They then had to take financial classes and contribute hundreds of hours of their own time.
"That is working in our ReStore, on our construction site, and they attend homeowner education classes, because we want to teach them how to be successful homeowners," said Gayle Fleming of Habitat.
The number of volunteer hours and requirements vary based on the number of adults in each family. Habitat said their main goal is to provide affordable housing to less-fortunate families.
This year, Habitat has partnered with 23 families and is working with 46 others to revitalize neighborhoods and help families have a home.