LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Habitat for Humanity Lake County has received two state grants totaling $840,000 to continue to expand its services – both for first-time homebuyers and for those who need critical home repairs.
The grants are through the California Department of Housing and Community Development's CalHome program.
Habitat for Humanity Lake County President Richard Birk said he believes it's the largest grant award that the local Habitat chapter has received at one time.
The first grant, for $540,000, will allow Habitat for Humanity to continue to provide mortgage assistance for first-time homebuyers within the city of Clearlake. The funds are to be used in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity’s Homeownership Program, according to Birk.
Birk said the second grant of $300,000 offers mortgage and rehabilitation assistance to owners of manufactured homes throughout Lake County.
That goes along with a larger effort that began about five years ago, when Habitat for Humanity decided to start a home repair program for seniors who can't afford to make the home upgrades, said Birk.
So far, they've repaired 150 homes, spending more than $1 million on that effort – which has included everything from roofs, to wheelchair ramps and lifts, Birk said.
“That's a huge need. The housing stock up here is so bad,” he said.
“We focus on health and safety issues in the house,” Birk added.
Birk said Habitat for Humanity also received another housing preservation grant for $125,000 from the US Department of Agriculture. Those funds can be used for home repairs anywhere in the county.
Applicants for Habitat's rehabilitation and homeowner programs must meet income and program qualifications and are subject to loan repayments, Birk said.
Since it was founded a decade and a half ago, Habitat for Humanity Lake County has raised several million dollars in its effort to improve local housing stock, Birk said.
The group finished its first house in 2002, Birk said, and has provided 18 homes to new homeowners so far.
That includes purchasing two bank-owned homes and rehabilitating them. “If the opportunity is there, if we see them, we'll go after them,” said Birk.
He said Habitat is getting ready to build a new home in a few weeks, and hopes to build at least two more this year, plans which will be helped by the latest round of grant funding.
While Habitat for Humanity has qualified applicants for the three homes it aims to build this year, it's always looking for families who qualify for the program in order to plan for future projects.
If you would like more information about Habitat for Humanity programs, contact the Lower Lake office at 707-994-1100, visit the organization online at www.lakehabitat.org or https://www.facebook.com/habitatforhumanity.lakecoca , or follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hfh_lake_co .
Email Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Habitat for Humanity receives $840,000 in state grants for homebuyer and repair programs
- Elizabeth Larson
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