Grants made available for home assistance

NORWALK — Local areas stand to benefit from $6.8 million in newly released state funds to help Ohioans with their homes. The Ohio Department of Development on Wednesday announced the grant program aimed at improving housing for roughly 1,200 low- and moderate-income residents. This funding allows nonprofits across Ohio to "promote more affordable housing opportunities and improve housing conditions through essential home repairs, renovations for handicap accessibility, limited down payment assistance and homebuyer education," according to a department statement. "Ohio's housing challenges do not begin and end with the cost of buying a home," development department director Lydia Mihalik said. "The truth is keeping a home safe and livable can be just as challenging for many families," Mihalik said. "This funding helps fill critical gaps for Ohioans who need support now, supporting essential repairs, accessibility updates and down payment assistance that improve quality of life and provide greater stability." With these grants, nonprofits can contract with local qualified construction companies to complete essential home repairs. This would include heating systems, water heaters, plumbing systems, severely deteriorated roofs, walls, windows, doors, hazardous electrical systems and more. The grants also allow investments of up to $5,000 per home toward down payment assistance and associated out-of-pocket expenses as well as up to $500 per household for homebuyer education. Among the nonprofits with area ties obtaining a portion of these dollars: • Ohio District 5 Area Agency on Aging, Inc., which serves Huron County — It will receive $830,000 to provide home repairs and handicapped accessibility modifications for qualifying homeowners who are 60 and older based on income levels. • The Area Agency on Aging of Northwestern Ohio, Inc., which serves Erie, Ottawa and Sandusky counties — It will receive $480,000 to provide home repairs and handicapped accessibility modifications for qualifying homeowners who are 60 and older based on income levels. • The Ability Center of Greater Toledo, which serves Ottawa County — It will receive $430,000 to provide handicapped accessibility modifications for qualifying homeowners with disabilities. People can contact these nonprofits or visit development.ohio.gov for more information.