(The Center Square) – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Democrats from Oregon, announced that $164,343 in U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Housing Preservation grants are being made available to help with home repairs in rural Harney and Malheur counties.
“When home repairs are critical to health and safety, we need to come together as a community to make sure they get done,” Merkley said. “This grant heading to Community in Action will provide crucial assistance to low-income homeowners in Harney and Malheur Counties so that their homes stay liveable. I won’t stop working to secure resources for households in every corner of the state to ensure that folks have safe, affordable roofs over their heads.”
Wyden expressed a similar sentiment.
“Housing is a human right. And in my 1,065 open-to-all town hall meetings so far in every Oregon county as well as in other community meetings, I hear from families and small businesses about the acute need for quality housing that working people can afford,” Wyden said. “These grants for Harney and Malheur counties will help rural Oregonians with needed repairs that make their homes safe, efficient, and comfortable.”
The nonprofit Communities of Action allocates these grants. The grants will help 17 low-income homeowners with rebuild and replacement projects; these people would otherwise lack the necessary resources to make these repairs, a release said.
Communities in Action wants to help alleviate health and safety hazards in these homes by supporting roof repairs and replacements, structural supports and foundations, or porches; and by making changes to the homes’ interior or exterior to improve accessibility.
“Community in Action (CinA) is very pleased to receive USDA Rural Development Grant funds once again,” Kris Hurd, Energy/Weatherization Manager, Community in Action, said in the release. Since 2000, USDA RD funds have allowed CinA to be able to provide improvement to 58 homes in Malheur and Harney Counties. Improvements were in the form of many areas, but all were health and safety related, increasing the livability of homes owned by low-income residents who would not otherwise be able to fund these necessary upgrades. These residents are now enjoying a safer, more comfortable living space. With these additional USDA RD funds, CinA looks forward to helping more residents in Malheur and Harney Counties remain safely in their homes.”
