Some homeowners in Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, McDonough, and Warren Counties, plus the cities of Havana and Joy Illinois, may be eligible to receive grants to make necessary repairs to their homes. The Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) Home Repair Program is available to eligible homeowners who cannot afford to make the needed repairs to make their home safer to live in. The grants can amount up to $60,000, depending on the repair needs and family’s eligibility. Eligible households will not be required to repay assistance received for repairs of their home.
Interested families owning the home they live in should contact Darrin Taflinger soon to determine if they are eligible for the service. He can be reached by calling the agency’s Macomb office, 309-837-2997, or by email, darrin@wirpc.org.
Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) awarded $1.4 million to WIRC through a competitive process; the agency is one of 16 authorized Illinois organizations that will administer the program in their respective service areas. Taflinger estimates the amount of WIRC’s award will be enough to help rehabilitate 20 houses in the agency’s service area.
To be considered, homes must be owner-occupied and it must be the primary residence of the applicant. Types of homes that can be repaired include single-family homes, manufactured homes on permanent foundations, condominiums, or cooperative units. Applicants also must have experienced some type of financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of hardship include, but are not limited to, the loss of a job, reduced work hours, loss of income due to a COVID-19 diagnosis, and other similar situations.
If the homeowner is still paying towards a mortgage, they must be current with their payments and in good standing with their lender. Also, the gross combined income of all household members must be within the guidelines for the area in which they live. For example, a family of four can make no more than $96,200 per year. After qualifying, the home will be inspected by trained WIRC officials. The homeowner will be informed about what can and cannot be fixed under the program’s guidelines. WIRC then partners with local contractors to complete the repairs.
WIRC is reaching out to Home Repair Contractors, in addition to alerting potentially eligible homeowners. Taflinger says with the anticipated number of homes to be repaired under the program throughout the region, the agency will need more contractors to help. A previous requirement of the program that discouraged some contractors from involvement has been eliminated. New state regulations have eliminated the requirement to have a lead license. Contractors are now only required to be EPA RRP certified. This certification can typically be earned by taking a one-day class for those still needing the certification. Any contractors who are interested in partnering with WIRC on these home repair projects should contact Taflinger at WIRC’s Macomb office to add their names to the pre-qualified bidders list.
When asked when he expects the program to get underway, Taflinger said, “Depending on the number of contractors who partner with us, we could potentially start repairs for eligible households as early as this summer”.
WIRC, a nonprofit member of the National Community Action Agency Network, realizes many families were negatively affected financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. They are happy to be able to offer this service to some of those families, along with other social services they provide to assist households with getting back on their feet. To learn more about the free programs WIRC offers visit wirpc.org or follow their social media. Call their Macomb office at 309-837-2997 or Galesburg office at 309-837-5115. WIRC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.