The City of Tioga recently announced the upcoming availability of HOME Program funds to assist low-income homeowners in replacing their current home with a new house, built on the same lot.
When Tioga Mayor Craig Jezek was first elected in 2013, he was bothered by the abandoned, dilapidated houses that were scattered throughout town. It became one of his goals to work with property owners to tear down or remodel these structures. During this time, it came to Jezek’s attention that there were several Tioga residents living in houses that were in need of repairs, so he started looking for ways to help them. While he didn’t find anything available to help with repair and remodels, he did find the HOME Program.
The HOME Program provides formula grants to states and localities that communities use to fund a range of activities including building, buying and rehabilitating affordable housing for rent or homeownership, or providing direct rental assistance to low-income people. This program is the largest federal block grant to state and local governments created exclusively to provide affordable housing for low-income households.
In 2013, Major Jezek reached out to GrantWorks, a national provider of highly specialized grant administration, program management and technical consulting services for state, county and city governments. He applied for the HOME Program and his request was accepted. The city received two applications from citizens, and in 2016 those citizens received their new homes built on the site of the houses they already owned.
The City of Tioga applied to GrantWorks again in 2020 and received two more citizen applications. Those residents moved into their news homes in 2023. To date, around 30 dilapidated houses have been torn down and several have been remodeled. Tioga applied once more in 2023 and is currently accepting applications from interested citizens.
“We continue to apply for this grant because it is a way to help our citizens,” Jezek said.
The HOME Program is available to homeowners living within the City of Tioga city limits. Applications can be obtained during regular business hours at City Hall (600 N. Main Street in Tioga). They will be accepted by mail, fax and email. The deadline to submit applications is May 10, 2024.
For more information and assistance on how to apply, please contact Ermelinda Bost at GrantWorks at 512-387-1583 or [email protected].