Two qualifying veterans residing within Salem city limits can still apply for assistance through the Welcome Home program and receive up to $23,000 worth of need-based home renovation.
The Welcome Home program is funded through a grant provided by the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), sponsored by Riverways Federal Credit Union (RFCU) and administered by the City of Salem.
The program provides up to $25,000 worth of home improvements for up to 25 owner-occupied homes if the owners or residents meet certain low-income criteria, $2,000 of which is earmarked to pay for inspections and other administrative costs.
Six owner-occupied homes are earmarked for veterans.
If veterans do not apply those funds will not be able to be used.
“Veterans are often some of the last people to ask for help,” said Sally Burbridge, economic development director for the City of Salem. Many veterans would rather see others get help than themselves, which is why it’s important for them to realize that these funds are specifically earmarked to help them.
Burbridge also pointed out that for the criteria, the veteran doesn’t have to be the homeowner for their household to qualify.
“If a veteran lives there the house may qualify as long as the homeowner lives there too,” said Burbridge.
The sort of work included in the criteria for the application includes insulation, new windows, heat/air system, a roof in need of repair or replacement, etc.
Applicants should understand this is for long-term improvement of the home and the repairs will be of the type that will be of significant benefit to the homeowner and their family.
The program targets low-income, veteran owned (or occupied), elderly and homes with residents who have disabilities.
Homeowners will be required to match 20% of the cost of the projects, which totals up to a maximum amount of $5,000 in match. That match can be money that the owner already has on hand, or can be acquired through a loan and in some cases in the form of assistance from other programs.
According to Burbridge, this program has the potential to make a big impact on this specific subset of people in need. Welcome Home’s goal is to put people in better financial positions by the end of the program. The program is not focused on cosmetic upgrades. Depending on how much renovation is necessary in a home, there may not be enough funds to address all of the problems; however, according to Burbridge, the goal will be to prioritize some of the biggest renovation needs the house has.
A fortunate side-effect of helping individuals in the community is the general benefit that such renovations provide to the community at large by increasing property values by helping low-income people build equity, lowering utility costs, as well as improving health conditions of homes, et cetera.
“Take your pick, it’s good for the general welfare of the community,” said Burbridge.
“Everyone in our community deserves the benefits of a warm, safe home that contributes to overall health and wellbeing,” said Burbridge.
The application process is fairly simple, though can take some time.
• First, the process begins with filling out a pre-application. One can be retrieved either at the City of Salem Administration office from Burbridge or Missy Canaday, a City of Salem administrative assistant who is doing much of the work for the Welcome Home program, or you can find a copy on the City of Salem website or attached to the bottom of this story;
• Second, after the pre-application has been filled out and submitted, Canaday will reach out to applicants for the next step, which includes income verification for every person over 18 living in the home regardless of their relationship to the homeowner and veterans are required to provide their discharge papers;
• Third, once Canaday has received the appropriate documentation, she will plug the relevant information into a program utilized by the FHLB to determine whether or not an applicant is eligible;
• Fourth, there is a waiting process after verification—the program is being operated in six rounds with one home in each category (the final round will be one round of 5 homes instead of four).
The first four rounds are currently each in different phases.
• Round one homes have already been inspected and put out for contractors to bid. According to Burbridge, she hopes to have awarding projects to contractors on the agenda for the Sept. 15 Board of Aldermen meeting.
• Round two applicants recently had their pre-inspections completed.
• Round three applicants have completed their paperwork and are awaiting pre-inspection for defining bid specifications .
• Round four has two applicants that have completed their paperwork and awaiting two more applicants to move to the next phase.
• Rounds five and six have yet to receive applicants—including the two veteran slots mentioned in this story.
Burbridge hopes that other people in the community will see what needs to be addressed through this and take steps to share this information with people they know who may qualify.
“Anyone can walk through the pre-application with homeowners,” said Burbridge. Then they can submit the application.
Successful homeowners will need to attend homeowner counseling and financial training provided by RFCU as part of the grant agreement, according to Burbridge.
