Homeowners in Hocking, Athens and Perry counties who have been putting off a failing furnace, a leaking roof or a bathroom they can no longer safely use are in line for help. Hocking Athens Perry Community Action will receive $300,000 from the Ohio Department of Development for essential home repairs and accessibility modifications, State Rep. Kevin Ritter (R-Marietta) announced in an Ohio House release.
The money is aimed at homeowners at or below 50 percent of area median income in the three counties the agency serves, according to the Ohio House release. It will fund essential repairs and handicapped accessibility modifications — the kind of work that decides whether an older or disabled resident can keep living safely in their own home.
The Southeast Ohio award is part of a much larger statewide round. The Ohio Department of Development recently announced $6.8 million in grants to improve housing and provide down-payment assistance for nearly 1,200 low- and moderate-income Ohioans, the release said.
The funding comes from the Housing Assistance Grant Program, which uses Ohio Housing Trust Fund dollars to help nonprofit organizations promote affordable housing and improve housing conditions, according to the release. The program also supports accessibility renovations, limited down-payment assistance and homebuyer education.
Hocking Athens Perry Community Action, based in Glouster, is the community action agency for the three counties, administering programs that range from energy assistance and weatherization to housing rehabilitation for low-income residents across the Hocking Valley and Athens and Perry counties.
For the three counties, the grant lands in a housing market where many homes are older and where a single major repair — a furnace in winter, a roof over a bedroom — can decide whether a family stays housed or is forced to move. Accessibility work such as ramps, railings and bathroom modifications serves the same goal, letting residents age or recover in the homes they already have rather than in costlier institutional settings.
What happens next: the agency will administer the $300,000 locally in Hocking, Athens and Perry counties. Homeowners who believe they qualify — at or below 50 percent of area median income and in need of an essential repair or accessibility modification — should contact the agency for intake details, which were not published in the announcement itself.
Photo: Ed!, CC BY-SA