FLINT, Michigan -- A grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will help Genesee County Habitat for Humanity provide home maintenance and repair service for seniors in Flint.
The $121,406 grant will support repairs for anything that is health- or code-related, including roofs, structural damage, porch repair, electrical work, HVAC, accessibility, siding, exterior paint, weatherization, and energy efficiency upgrades.
To be eligible for the program, a person must be:
A Flint resident who owns the home they live in;
At least 60-years-old; and
At or under 120 percent of the area median income based on household size (e.g., $53,760 for one person and $76,680 for a four-person household).
“Helping seniors who want to stay in their homes is critical to maintaining the fabric of a neighborhood,” said Thomas Hutchison, executive director of Genesee County Habitat for Humanity, in a news release. “Often they are the ones who built that community, the ones who fixed the flat tire on your bike when you were younger, the ones who connected neighbors to each other, the advocates for the park down the block, and the ones who choked down your too sweet lemonade at 50 cents a cup. At the end of the day, it’s the least we can do.”
Information about this and other Genesee County Habitat for Humanity programs is available on their website or by calling (810) 766-9089 ext. 213.
The grant is part of the Mott Foundation’s response to how residents voted to spend $1 million to strengthen Flint neighborhoods. The community-led grantmaking is part of the Foundation’s Focus on Flint initiative. Mott announced in August that it would fully fund seven neighborhood projects and partially fund an eighth project — $1 million in total — based on how Flint residents voted between July 28 and August 11. A complete list of projects that will be funded is available online.
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