By Drew Johnson
Underneath the tree in our logo are the words “Improving lives in South County”. We are very excited to publicly announce a program that does just that. A year or so ago, the Village of Vickburg approached us about partnering on a $550,000 grant for home repair for low-income households in the village that it had received from the County and the Vicksburg Foundation. Since then, we have been using that funding to replace roofs, install new electric, and complete other safety improvements, and have spent around $100,000 of the funding on residents who we knew needed assistance. Now that we are done with our first phase, we are opening it up to public applications!
One of the households that we served was Laura Moore’s (see picture). We replaced the roof, installed new windows and a door, and fixed up the back deck and ramp. I spoke with Laura for this article, and she said that it has made a big difference in her life—she said that the new windows are much tighter than the old ones and that heating the house was much cheaper this past winter. She also said that the ramp is important for her father, who will be moving in with them shortly. “We are very very happy with the work that was done and the whole process,” she says, which I relayed to Brian Penny, who has been coordinating the program.
Brian, as some of you may know, came to SCCS with over 20 years of experience working in and eventually managing Milestone Senior Services’ Home Repair Program. This makes him especially well-suited to run the Vicksburg Home Repair Program. He has been coordinating and developing this program and we have been able to use it for some pretty amazing things: Over the winter, for example, we were able to help a local senior replace her broken furnace right before the big snowstorm that knocked us all out. We have also been able to help nine other households with things as diverse as wired fire alarms, ramps, roofing, and plumbing work. It is a lot of work and coordination so we are lucky we have Brian to manage the program and the Village as partners!
If you need help with home repairs, here are the details:
- Location: Home must be within the Village of Vicksburg boundaries.
- Income guidelines: 60% of the area median income or lower (based on household size—income table is on the application).
- Repairs allowed: Furnace and water heater repair/replacement, exterior doors and windows, insulation, roofing, siding, other health, safety, and weatherization-related repairs (cosmetic renovations excluded).
- Application: On the Village of Vicksburg website or here at 606 Spruce St.
- Documents required: Proof of house insurance, income, and identification.
- Funding provided: Work is financed through a forgivable grant with pro rata repayment required if sold or transferred within the first five years. Maximum amount per household is $25,000.
Drew Johnson lives in Kalamazoo and is the Director at South County Community Services. He has a small quarter acre homestead with chickens, bees, and hops (and more!), a wonderful wife, and three energetic children. He can be reached at 649-2901 or ajohnson@southcountycs.com.
For more information on South County Community Services, please check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/southcountycs or our website.
