CATSKILL — Seniors in Greene County who need emergency home repairs will see relief after a Catskill nonprofit received state funding to address urgent home safety issues.
The Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation will receive $98,000 in state grant funding for the Restore program, which assists senior citizen homeowners with the cost of addressing emergencies and code violations at their homes that pose a threat to their health and safety or affects the livability of the home.
“The Restore program allows us to do emergency repairs for senior homeowners,” Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation Director Larry Krajeski said Thursday. “The homeowner or a member of the household has to be over the age of 60 and they have to meet an income requirement. It has to be a repair of some emergency nature. We do a lot of heating system repairs and we’ve done a lot of roof repairs.”
The grant money is part of a round of $1.4 million in state funding awarded to nonprofit groups in Greene, Ulster and Schenectady counties to low-to-moderate-income homeowners address home repairs.
Krajeski said the grant funding will cover the group’s senior program for the next year and the organization is ready to start immediately dispersing the funds based on the needs of local seniors.
“Having the money available now is great with the bitter cold weather if someone has an emergency problem with their heating system, we can respond,” he said. “Roofs are kind of tricky to work on in the winter. We’ll do a repair in time if we can, but some contractors won’t work in the really cold weather. It’s difficult to do a roof in really cold weather.”
Krajeski said the grant money is a critical source of funding for the Catskill nonprofit.
“We apply for this funding almost every year,” he said. “I think we’ve gotten 15 awards over a 30-year period. We’ve helped repair over 200 homes using the funding.”
Seniors can apply for the grants by contacting the Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation and the group also receives referrals from the Department for the Aging and Community Action of Greene County.
The organization services the entirety of Greene County and Krajeski said the grant money is a critical source of funding for the Catskill nonprofit.
“The Restore program is really for emergency repairs and the two main categories are heating systems and roofs,” he said. “Sometimes we get water issues as well, with pumps or wells breaking down.”
The grant funding is administered by the New York Homes and Community Renewal’s Office of Community Renewal.
“This state funding will change lives in our communities, allowing people with disabilities to implement accessibility modifications, helping first-time homebuyers make down payments, supporting seniors with emergency repairs, and assisting low-and moderate-income New Yorkers in implementing needed upgrades to their homes,” state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, said in a statement. “I congratulate the local nonprofits and municipalities across Greene, Schenectady, and Ulster County that have been selected to receive this important funding, and I thank Governor Hochul for her partnership in closing the affordability gap on homeownership throughout New York State. Owning a home is a hallmark of the American Dream and I will continue to fight for investments to help more upstate New Yorkers secure safe, accessible and affordable housing.”
https://www.hudsonvalley360.com/news/greenecounty/nonprofit-receives-funds-for-senior-housing-repairs/article_309f6896-52d0-5c53-8e48-6868bff8b3d7.html