‘Our last move’: single mom thrilled to receive keys to Habitat home

Jacq Roxas traced the walls and countertops with her fingertips as she looked around the space where she put in 300 hours of sweat and “muscle pain.”

Family and friends had just left after offering their congratulations and Roxas was taking the time to take it all in.

“Being in that moment ever since all the experiences and the journey that we’ve had, it’s like this is it. This is finally it,” said Roxas. “The hard work has paid off.”

The Winnipeg woman and her 14-year-old son, Asher, were one of five families who received keys to their new homes this month from Habitat for Humanity.

Asher is already asking her when he can have friends over for a sleepover in the new digs, which had been in the works since 2022.

“As I walk in there’s just a feeling of warmth,” Roxas said. “It’s an open space right now.”

Roxas has moved four times since immigrating from the Philippines in 2012. She’s hopped from studio and one-bedroom apartments around the West End and downtown neighbourhoods.

“Finally this is our home,” Roxas told Asher of the Transcona-area house. “This is our last move.”

She was a bit surprised by those words, admitting she didn’t previously see Winnipeg as a final destination.

“I never thought I would be here for this long,” Roxas said, noting she’s struggled adjusting to the new life. “It was scary, especially still learning the city… I’m the only one who is going to protect my son and myself, too. It took a lot of courage, but it made me even stronger for next time.”

Roxas is excited to host friends and family at the new place. After all, she feels the need to give back after so many picked up a hammer to help or babysat Asher over the years.

“I feel like we are always on the receiving end being welcomed by my family and friends. So, I want to do the same for them,” Roxas said.

But before then, she has some work to do — like figuring out where to put a couch and Christmas tree, as well as picking out rooms for her and Asher.

When Roxas looks out her big kitchen window, she knows underneath the paint and etched on the skeleton of the frame is more than 80 signatures of members of the Habitat community who helped build the unit.

One of those signatures belongs to Grace Karpinsky, who added the message: “I hope this home keeps you safe.”

Karpinsky helped put in the windows and door frames. She also helped frame the walls.

“Underneath all the finishing is all the love that went into that,” said Karpinsky, 55. “It’s so rewarding, it’s a tear-jerker… it’s also a sense of camaraderie because you didn’t do it alone, you did it with others.”

She’s been involved with the non-profit for 16 years.

“It’s kind of like parenting. You just feel an incredible sense of satisfaction on a job well done, especially when you see other people coming together and enjoying what you’ve been so instrumental in putting together,” she said.

Karpinsky, a single mother of two, said she knows the difficulties of being a homeowner and wanted to help when she came across Habitat’s Women Build program, which builds, fundraises and promotes leadership skills. It’s open for all genders and backgrounds.

“We build a little slower. We do a little bit more teaching. We do a little bit more nurturing, as opposed to the get ‘er done mentality that you would find on a traditional build site,” said Karpinsky.

She has signed her name at 19 Habitat homes across Winnipeg and says the experience has helped boost her confidence on construction sites.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca