‘Smiling from ear to ear’: Family receives keys to new home

A Windsor mother and daughter have much to be thankful for ahead of Thanksgiving after receiving the keys to their new home.

Habitat for Humanity handed over the keys to a Bruce Avenue home to Lisa Romanick and her daughter, Zoey, on Saturday afternoon.

“To know that she’s happy, she’s excited, and it’s just like just to watch her inside, looking around, smiling from ear to ear to know how happy she is,” Lisa said of her daughter.

Representatives from Habitat, elected officials, family, and friends were on hand to see the family open the door to their new life.

Currently, living in a small apartment, Lisa noted the situation can be difficult for Zoey, 15, who has autism. As her mom received the keys, an excited Zoey exclaimed, “Wow,” realizing the wait was finally over.

“She’s been asking for this for a while, and then for her to come out today and be with everybody, and with the people she doesn’t know and stuff, and still be smiling and walking around is just amazing,” Lisa said.

To qualify for the home, Lisa logged hundreds of hours at Habitat’s ReStore, an opportunity she hopes to resume once they’re settled in.

Originally built in 2005 through the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, this marks the third time keys have changed hands.

Through the years, Fiona Coughlin, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex, said the home has been a building block for the single mothers who have lived inside.

“So, the opportunity to build equity and generational wealth stops poverty in its tracks, and I think that’s core,” Coughlin said.

For each Habitat property, the families own the house, building equity, and in the event that they move, the organization repurchases the home with financial help from ReStore sales.

The Bruce Avenue home only required “minor touch-ups” to ensure it feels like a “brand new home,” Coughlin noted.

“We’re so grateful to be able to make a difference in housing as a community and as a family. So it couldn’t be more meaningful to have this on Thanksgiving weekend,” she said.

While Thanksgiving weekend will involve a significant move, Lisa has big plans for the upcoming holiday season.

“I told her for Halloween we’ll be able to hand out candy for the kids,” Lisa said.

“Then Christmas is right around the corner, so we’ll be able to have people over for Christmas.”

To date, Habitat for Humanity Windsor-Essex has built, repaired, or renovated more than 150 homes across the region.