Pontiac homeowners receive $25,000 for home repairs thanks to city program
PONTIAC, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Residents in Pontiac in need of home renovations are getting some much-needed help from the city.
Delores Stephens has lived in her Pontiac home for nearly 50 years, with decades of dealing with a leaky roof.
"Pots and pans and blankets and towels and whatever else I could grab to stop the water from coming in on the floors, in the garage ... it was everywhere," Stephens said.
On Wednesday, she finally had new gutters put on. Insulation is coming next. Stephens also had a new roof installed just over a week ago.
"It's wonderful. ... I just can't get over that it's happened," she said.
These renovations are part of the Pontiac Home Repair Program that launched last spring.
"It's a way not just to help those individual homeowners, but also to improve the housing stock in neighborhoods, address blight, and really lift property values for everybody in the city," said Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel.
Griemel says of the $37 million the city received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, $3 million is allocated specifically for this program, with a $25,000 cap per household for repairs.
"We have a lot of need in the community; a lot of people have work that really needs to be done on their homes that they haven't been able to afford to get done, and we want to make sure that we're addressing as many homes as possible," Greimel stated.
So far, eight homes have been completed, 57 are in the process of being improved and 31 additional homes have been given the green light for renovations.
Stephens says she's grateful her home was chosen.
"Oh my god, it means a lot because I am a disabled retiree, and with that being a once-a-month payment, it was just hard for me to put money aside to get it done. I don't have to worry about when it rains, no more leaking. A worry and a concern gone," said Stephens.
The mayor says there are hundreds of people already on a waitlist for this program, so at this time, they're not accepting any more applicants.
However, the city is in the process of securing more funding. Once that happens, they are encouraging more residents to apply.
The program is eligible for any resident earning less than 80% of the area median income adjusted by family size.