Program aids with emergency home repairs
City receives $25,000 grant award
Yuma has received a $25,000 grant that will help homeowners in need of emergency home repairs but lack the financial resources to make the repairs.
The City Council authorized City Administrator Greg Wilkinson to accept the grant award from Arizona Complete Health (formerly Cenpatico Integrated Care) to support the city’s Emergency Home Repair Program during the Sept. 19 meeting.
The Department of Community Development runs the program, which addresses housing conditions that pose a threat to the health, safety and welfare of residents of owner-occupied homes.
A staff report noted that building inspectors and code enforcement officers frequently encounter homeowners with serious housing problems, such as inoperable plumbing, leaking roofs or unsafe wiring, but the homeowners can’t afford to fix them.
Significant code problems such as these make the home unsafe for occupancy and may cause homelessness, the report noted.
Other housing rehabilitation programs administered by DCD are unable to respond to emergency situations and have specific requirements for eligibility of the homeowners. The Emergency Home Repair Program has more flexibility and offers priority assistance to the elderly, families with children and veterans.
The council also authorized Wilkinson to execute six subrecipient agreements allocating Community Development Block Grant funds totaling $121,250 as outlined in the 2018 Annual Action Plan.
The council approved the plan on June 20, which in part set aside U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds for local nonprofit entities to administer approved activities. The city has negotiated subrecipient agreements and will be awarding funds to the following entities: $27,500 to Achieve Human Services for Orange Avenue apartment window replacement; $23,000 to Adult Literacy Plus of Arizona for a facility roof replacement; $6,750 to Arizona Classical Ballet for ballet lessons for homeless children; $9,000 to Catholic Community Services for home delivered meals; $40,000 to Crossroads Mission for its Nutrition Program; and $15,000 to Western Arizona Council of Governments for its Fair Housing Program.
Each agreement has a one-year term. These funds are a portion of the total CDBG allocation received by the city for 2018-19. The $763,402 funding balance is dedicated to activities administered by the Neighborhood Services Division. Those activities — rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing, rental inspections, code enforcement, infrastructure improvements — target the Mesa Heights Neighborhood and are part of the long-term strategy for revitalization of that community.