Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - The town has grant money available to help homeowners make repairs. The money spent on repairs to the homes does not have to be repaid by the homeowners. However, the amount per household is limited to approximately $5,000.
The focus of this program is to make Winona Lake homes safe, accessible and more energy efficient. Repairs under this program include such things as:
• Roof repair or replacement
• New furnace
• Window replacement
• Electrical upgrade
• Handicapped accessibility
Winona Lake homeowners can be a part of this program if their total family income is below the following income limits: one person, $12,600; two people, $14,400; three people, $16,150; four people, $17,950; five people, $19,400; six people, $20,850; seven people, $22,300; eight people, $23,700.
Because the grant money was received from a state agency - The Indiana Housing Finance Authority - certain rules apply. In particular, mobile homes and homes within the 100-year flood plain are not allowed in the program.
The grant is being administered by Housing Opportunities of Warsaw Inc., 827 S. Union St., Warsaw. Interested homeowners should contact Pam Kennedy at Housing Opportunities, 269-7641.
The funds can be used in a variety of ways. For example:
HOW recently helped an elderly couple who live on Packerton Road. The husband is wheelchair-bound, and the wife recently had to undergo back surgery. Although they already had a ramp into the home, the wife was finding it increasingly difficult to get her husband around inside the home, particularly in and out of the bathroom.
Grant money was used to widen the bathroom door and install a handicapped-accessible shower and toilet.
A similar grant in Warsaw was used by a single mother on Fort Wayne Street with a teenage son and a preschool- age daughter. Because the home has two bedrooms on the main floor, the teenage son's bedroom is in the basement.
Unfortunately, the basement did not have windows and the boy had no way to escape the house in the event of a fire. Grant funds were used to excavate and add a window to the basement to be used as an emergency exit in case of a fire.
Another common repair is window replacement. In addition to improving the look of a house, homeowners are always pleasantly surprised at the drop in their utility bills the first winter after having new energy efficient windows installed.
Because Housing Opportunities of Warsaw bids out the work and approves the finished job before payment, homeowners are protected from unscrupulous contractors who sometimes prey on the elderly or uneducated.
