Nearly four years after Hurricane Ian tore through Central Florida, 64-year-old Lorenzo Turner wheeled through the inside of his Apopka home Tuesday morning and compared the moment to winning the lottery. 

“I don’t know if you ever hit the lottery,” Turner said. “But if you ever have one suddenly, it’s like a dream come true, like you woke up. I’m just so happy.” 

Through the Orange County Recovers program, Turner’s home at 1165 S. Central Ave. has been extensively repaired and renovated after sustaining major roof damage in the 2022 storm. At a total renovation cost of an estimated $147,000, the work was funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program (CDBG-DR). 

Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore and Mitchell Glasser, manager of the Orange County Housing and Development Division, presented Turner with the key to his newly renovated home. 

Turner, who has lived in the home for nearly 40 years, said he remembers lying in bed as Hurricane Ian’s winds blasted his home. 

“I actually felt the house shaking,” he said. “You can see where the ceiling came loose.” 

The roof was “pretty much a loss,” according to Sherry Julien, project manager for Orange County Housing and Community Development’s disaster recovery program, noting that the roof failure allowed water to seep into the home and cause widespread mold and interior damage.  

“They pretty much had to cut the house out – all the drywall, replace the flooring,” Julien said.  

Turner said he stayed in the home after the storm, trying to maintain it despite constant leaks. Since the time of the hurricane, he suffered a stroke that left him using a wheelchair. 

“Life’s been going downhill ever since,” he said, recalling the months after the storm. 

Before his stroke, Turner was able to walk and navigate the house, but the structure was not designed for wheelchair access. As part of the renovation, the county made the kitchen and bathrooms handicap accessible and installed a new ramp with rails leading into the home. 

Turner said his insurance company initially told him there was nothing wrong with the roof.  

“They said it wasn’t leaking,” he said. “And then [the insurance company said] all mold and mildew [was] always back there.” 

Moore said the roof collapse was what ultimately qualified the home for assistance, especially since the home insurance company tried to blame the issues on earlier causes, not on Ian.  

“That was when the county came through,” Moore said.  

The county began accepting applications for Orange County Recovers after federal disaster recovery funds were allocated. Turner said he learned about the program in March 2025 after seeing a news report. 

“I’m a very news person – that’s all I live for, the news,” he said. “I seen it one morning. I said, ‘I’m going to give it a try.’ And it worked. It really, really worked.” 

Construction on his home began in November and took about eight weeks. During that time, the program covered his temporary relocation costs. 

“They paid for my room and board,” Turner said. “They didn’t shortcut me. They made me feel like I was a person again.” 

Orange County Recovers was launched about a year ago after federal disaster funds finally arrived. Glasser said the county has received more than 300 applications for the Hurricane Ian housing program, with about 150 currently in process. Turner’s house, he said, is the first completed project under the effort and was among the first to begin construction.  

Glasser said the Orange County Recovers program is designed as a “program of last resort,” assisting homeowners who have exhausted insurance and FEMA options but still have unrepaired damage from Hurricane Ian. 

 “The program saved this house for future generations,” he said.  

In addition to structural repairs, Turner is receiving a new refrigerator after learning his old one no longer worked when it was moved back into the home.  

As he prepares to move his furniture back in, Turner said he plans to celebrate simply with a soda and a home-cooked meal from a friend. 

“Let everybody know in Apopka: please go out and apply for it,” he said of the program. “It’s nothing hard.” 

Turner’s niece, Demetris Turner, said the accessible upgrades mean her uncle can now move safely throughout his home.  

“It feels good just to know that he’ll be able to enter his home without harming himself,” she said.