Flower City Habitat for Humanity has helped a Rochester mother build a home.

“This is so exciting, it’s like a dream come true,” Kiomy Rivera, of Rochester, said.

Rivera moved in Monday.

“I still can’t believe it. I own a house for me and my family,” Rivera said.

As a mother of two small children, having a place to call home is crucial.

“This is a safe place for my kids, that’s the best thing,” Rivera said.

But it was a long road. Rivera worked with Flower City Habitat for Humanity to become a homeowner, putting in more than 300 hours on building the house herself.

“Some days I would tease her that I’d have to give her a W-4 she was here so often. She really embraced the process, and she probably knows this house more intimately than many will ever know their home," Flower City Habitat for Humanity CEO Matthew Flanigan said. "She’s been a part of every phase, every step of the way.”

And she wasn’t alone.

“Hundreds of people are behind this house here today, so we’ve got great volunteers, great church groups, corporate groups and individual donors that work so hard to make these houses the reality we see,” Flanigan said.

That’s why Rivera says she is beyond grateful to the organization and all the volunteers, because it’s more than a house. It’s a home.

“I just want to thank Habitat, for making my dream come true, for me and my kids,” Rivera said.