CLEVELAND — A News 5 Investigation into serious allegations of money misuse led to the shutdown of the former Lorain County Habitat for Humanity. Now, the doors to its store are open again under new management helping the people of Lorain County.
Customer Brian New was welcomed at the doors of the now-reopened Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Amherst this week. It’s the first time in months that New has been back.
“We would come at least once a week, more than likely twice a week,” New told us.
RESTORE CLOSED LAST SPRING
The ReStore had been closed following complaints filed with the Ohio Attorney General claiming the former management did not handle the organization’s money correctly.
“I ain’t going to lie. At first, I just wanted to grab somebody up and ask them what is wrong with you?” said New about the former management.
Habitat International cut ties with the group. People lost their jobs, and the store went dormant.
“It just kind of like cut your heart a little bit," New told us.
GREATER CLEVELAND HABITAT TAKES OVER
That was then. This is now.
“Since we’ve been in here, we’ve created a lot of signage. We filled the store,” explained Kevin Kelly as he walked us through the store. He’s the Director of the new ReStore that’s now being operated by the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity.
RELATED: 'It's important for so many people' — Cleveland Habitat for Humanity taking over in Lorain County
We were there on the first day of the store’s soft opening.
“Now it’s more wide open, a little more accessible. I see things organized very nicely,” said customer Tom Fussaro from Westlake.
“So, we have new building supplies,” said Kelly. “We have carpet squares. We have paint and paint supplies in that room,” he pointed out.
So, the good news is the ReStore is back open and serving the community again. But on the other side of the table, there are people who are concerned about why the place shut down to begin with. So, how does the new management counteract that?
RESTORING CONFIDENCE
“We have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure this store is operated appropriately,” said John Habat, who is Greater Cleveland Habitat’s Senior Advisor. “Our board takes that, our top management takes that seriously.”
News 5 Investigators have been asking the Attorney General’s Office what’s happening with the criminal investigation into the former leaders of the Lorain County Habitat. Despite two whistleblowers providing information to the AG many months ago and continued inquiries, it’s still unclear where the case stands.
So for now, that leaves it up to the new people running the organization to restore confidence for some customers in the community.
“You can expect friendly service here. You can expect people to have fun as they’re volunteering here,” said Kelly.
“If we could come and make a difference for the people of Lorain, we wanted to fill that void that now exists,” said Habat.
“And already it seems like the management is going to be on top of things,” said New. “What’s it going to hurt? [You should] give it a shot. Everyone deserves a chance.”
The new Habitat ReStore has its grand opening Saturday, November 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., complete with free gifts while they last. All profits will go towards building homes in Lorain County for those in need.
