Home Repair Grants Available to Douglas County Residents

Homeowners in Douglas County can apply for a grant to make their homes safe, secure, and healthy from NeighborWorks Umpqua. The grants are good for up to $15,000 worth of home repairs done by a local contractor. Common repairs include roof, bathroom, steps, floors, ramps, decking, door and window replacements, minor plumbing and electrical upgrades, and handicap-accessible repairs. NeighborWorks Umpqua is looking for people who are interested who own their home or are looking to be considered for the work as a licensed contractor. The only homes expressly not eligible for this particular grant are mobile homes built prior to 1977. Any homes outside of that parameter may be eligible and the owners are encouraged to show interest. “The goal is to keep them in a home,” Housing Rehab Specialist Eli Medina said. “We do health and safety related repairs — a new roof, heating, rot and damage in bathroom areas, plumbing, repairs like that. Anything that had to do with health and safety. It’s been going on for a while. They are grants, so they will not be loans. They will not have to repay anything that we’re providing.” The nonprofit partnered with the Cities of Roseburg and Myrtle Creek and Douglas County to apply for a Community Development Block Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and will put $396,000 into home repairs for homeowners below 80% of the Adjusted Median Income. They plan on doing work in 32 homes in Douglas County with a specific number in Roseburg and a specific number of mobile homes. “The cool part about this program is it has three focuses,” Single Family Home Repair Manager Robert Whitsell said. “One, it provides money into the community to rebuild the structures of the homes that are already in the community. Two, it helps homeowners who can’t afford repairs. And three, it provides money into the community through contractors who are doing the actual work.” This is one of the grant programs NeighborWorks Umpqua uses frequently to provide home repair assistance to Coos, Curry, and Douglas Counties. In this program, NeighborWorks Umpqua connects homeowners with the contractors and the homeowner says which contractor they will use and makes the decisions. The nonprofit helps develop a scope of work and counseling. “I’ve been in manufactured homes where they have OSB, when you could afford OSB, (and would say) this is where you walk, don’t stray from here, or you’re going to fall through. Stuff like that,” Medina said. “Sometimes, It doesn’t seem feasible, but you keep somebody in their home.” There is not a hard deadline, but community members are encouraged to express interest sooner rather than later and pass the word along. While there is a finite amount for this round of funding, the team keeps the list and returns to it whenever there is new funding available. A list of people looking for help also helps NeighborWorks Umpqua show the need when applying for new grants. “One of the biggest challenges with our programs is rural communication,” Whitsell said. “A lot of people in Roseburg know about our program, but people in Tiller, Glide, Idleyld Park, Drain, Scottsburg, they may not know about the program. We live in a rural community where word of mouth is our strongest means of communication.” The funding is on a first-come, first-served basis, but there are a few steps along the way that needs to happen in order to be selected. Homeowners must ask to be added to the interest list, fill out and return an application when it is sent to them, meet the eligibility requirements for the grant, and have a project that can be completed for less than the maximum grant amount and meet Housing and Urban Development standards. “We will be bringing this back, and if you can’t get in on this cycle, maybe you’ll get in on the next one,” Chief Executive Officer Erica Mills said. “It always helps us for other grant opportunities to be able to demonstrate that there is this need in the community.” The City of Roseburg conducted a housing needs analysis in 2018 and found the demand for housing is expected to stay high. People who are living on a fixed or limited income may not have the money to compete in a more expensive real estate market. “Home sales prices in Roseburg [and] rental costs in Roseburg are higher than in Douglas County,” the report said. “Roseburg has a relatively small share of housing that is multifamily housing and has fewer vacant housing units than Douglas County. Given these factors, Roseburg will continue to have demand for affordable lower income and workforce housing.” NeighborWorks Umpqua makes sure the work is being done well and acts as the project manager. The team helps with communication between the homeowner and contractor, ensuring the most necessary work is being done, maintaining the work stays under budget, and educating the homeowners on what to watch for to mitigate future wear and tear on the home. “These jobs really impact people’s lives,” Mills said. “I remember a customer in Roseburg where the homeowner hadn’t left his house in quite a long time because he didn’t have clean, sanitary facilities, and he didn’t feel like he was presentable to the outside community. When we were able to solve some leak issues and replace his bathroom facilities, he was able to take a shower and clean his laundry and leave his house for the first time in months or years. The impact on the quality of life for people beyond just the livability of their homes is pretty significant.” NeighborWorks Umpqua also has a class for homeowners to learn how to care for their homes and catch repairs early. They also provide a foreclosure prevention program to help people stay in their homes when facing potential foreclosure. All of NeighborWorks Umpqua’s housing programs meet requirements from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. If you need help getting into or staying in a house or apartment, the housing department at NeighborWorks Umpqua wants to help. To show interest in the program as a contractor or homeowner, go to https://www.nwumpqua.org/homeowners/repair-your-home/ or call the main NeighborWorks Umpqua phone number at 541-673-4909 or Robert Whitsell at 541-600-3227. *** Photos courtesy of Robert Whitsell. The photos show a house that needed a roof repair, the damage underneath, and the new roof at the end.