USDA Rural Development under Secretary Lisa Mensah this week announced grants to preserve and repair affordable housing for very-low- and low-income families living in rural areas across the country.
In Virginia, grants of more than $41,000 were announced for Roanoke nonprofit Renovation Alliance and for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission.
“Housing Preservation Grants are an excellent source of funding to help folks keep up a safe and energy-efficient home that is in good repair,” Mensah said. “This funding will go a long way toward helping maintain the value of rural residents’ homes and preserve the supply of safe, affordable housing in rural America.”
Renovation Alliance serves Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin and Roanoke counties. The nonprofit’s $41,683 grant will be used to provide home repair services to 15 low-income homeowner-occupied households in its service area. Repairs will include roof replacements, heating system repairs or replacements, structural repairs and accessible home modifications.
The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission serves Albemarle, Fluvanna, Green, Louisa and Nelson counties. The PDC’s $41,683 grant will be used to alleviate substandard housing issues in the district by supplementing and enhancing planned rehabilitation efforts at 21 households.
USDA Rural Development is awarding $3.9 million in Housing Preservation Grants to 107 organizations in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and in most states.
The grants will renovate 966 rural housing units. They can be used to remove health and safety hazards, make homes more energy efficient, and modernize the units. Eligible recipients include local governments, public agencies, federally recognized Indian Tribes, nonprofit organizations and faith-based and community groups. They distribute the grants to homeowners and owners of multi-family rental properties or cooperative dwellings who rent to low- and very-low-income residents.
The organizations receiving the grants determine which local projects to support.
Funding for all awards is contingent upon the recipients meeting the terms of their grant agreement.
USDA Rural Development in 2015 invested more than $1 billion in rural Virginia through 40 loan, grant and loan guarantee programs in housing, business, agriculture, energy, health care and community facilities. It has employees stationed in 14 offices across the commonwealth to better serve residents where they live and to improve the economy and quality of life in rural Virginia.