$500K program to help Rockford families make critical home repairs
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A partnership between the city and Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity will help 50 families make critical repairs to their homes this year.
City Council members on Monday approved contributing $250,000 in funding from the city’s share of federal American Rescue Plan dollars to the program. The nonprofit Rockford Housing Development Corporation will contribute an additional $250,000.
The program will help pay for needed repairs or renovations such as a handicap accessible entryway.
“We have so many people … on fixed incomes,” Mayor Tom McNamara said on This Week in the Stateline. “It could be seniors who are retired, it could be low-income folks who own their home but are having a real hard time finding funds to fix that front porch, fix windows, make sure that they don’t have any holes in their roofs. But they want to stay in their homes, and many of them want to end the rest of their lives in that home.”
Related: Habitat for Humanity’s construction program to expand to Jefferson High School
About $350,000 of the money is planned to be used on repairs, with $75,000 going toward hiring a project manager and an additional $75,000 paying for other administrative costs.
Homeowners who benefit from the program must earn less than 80% of the median average income.
“At the same time as this program would provide a critical service to Rockford residents, it will also help preserve the integrity, livability, and value of the housing stock itself in Rockford,” Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity wrote in a presentation to City Council.
The work is expected to be done in May through October.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram at @thekevinhaas.
