Missouri Housing Development Commission recently made grant funds in the amount of $150,000 available to Economic Security Corporation for 2007. These funds are to be used in Barton and McDonald Counties for the HERO Program. The basic goal of the program is to bring low to moderate- income, owner-occupied homes up to standard. The program is intended to solve housing code violations and reduce lead-based paint hazards first, and then provide general rehabilitation on the home.

In order to be eligible for the HERO Program the homeowner must:

1. Be low income (have an annual (gross) income that does not exceed 80% of median for the area): and
2. Occupy the property as their principal residence

Each home must be code compliant and pass a lead- based paint clearance test at the completion of the job, without exceeding the $20,000.00 maximum. If this cannot be accomplished, the home is considered ineligible. The only possible exceptions to this rule are rehabilitations for accessibility issues and cases of Disaster Designated/Emergency repair projects.

The work is done at no cost to the homeowner. In fact, the only requirement of the homeowner is that they sign a Land Use Restriction Agreement or LURA. The LURA must be signed by the homeowner and recorded by the agency. During the 3-year term of the LURA, the homeowner is not allowed to refinance, rent out, or sell the home. If the homeowner were to break this agreement, they could be required to pay back the full amount of the subsidy. Once the LURA has expired (after the three years), the homeowner can do whatever they choose to with the home.

The program minimum expenditure is $1,000.00 and the maximum is $20,000.00 per home. All rehabilitation activities must fall under one of the following activities: Weatherization, Repair/Replacement, Environmental, Accessibility, Emergency Home Repair, and Lead-Risk Reduction. A few examples of eligible rehabilitation activities include: Roof replacement, window replacement, exterior door replacement, installation of new vinyl siding, soffit and fascia replacement, installation of new heating/cooling systems, plumbing, floor repair, drywall repair, painting, etc.

If you have any further questions regarding the Home Repair Program, please don't hesitate to contact Debbie Markman or Curtis Scott at 417-781-0352.

The Community Development Division and the Housing Division received word last week that ESC's 2006 HUD Homeless Continuum of Care grant application was approved. The programs will receive the full amount of funding requested.

This application included grant requests of $37,426 for the CHANCE (Comprehensive Homeless Assistance for New Career Employment) program, $68,603 for the Transitional Housing for Homeless Families with Children program and $65,444 for the Permanent Housing for People with Disabilities program. These programs provide a variety of housing and supportive services for the homeless population in our area.

ESC is the lead entity in writing the Continuum of Care grant application which also contains funding requests for Lafayette House and the Salvation Army. Many people don't realize the extent of the homeless problem in our area. A recent street survey found 341 people living in homelessness in Jasper and Newton Counties alone. These grant funds will play a role in working towards our goal of helping these people in our communities.

A Joplin participant in the Missourian's Building Assets - IDA program closed on their first home February 20, 2007. Jonathon and Rachel Johnson were able to save a down-payment for the home through the program, which provides matching funds to low-income clients attempting to increase self- sufficiency. The newlyweds are both full-time employees of Freeman Hospital and full-time students at Missouri Southern State University. They have worked very hard over the past year to pay off debts, increase their education and improve their self- sufficiency. ESC staff celebrated with the Johnsons, and honored the partners who have worked with them in obtaining their dream of owning a home, on the day of their closing.

The Missourians Building Assets Project is designed to allow low-income wage earners to save money in an account that is matched on a 2:1 basis toward a specific saving goal. That means that for each dollar a participant saves, they earn two dollars in matching funds. Participants can save up to $2,000 to be matched with funds from state, local and federal funding sources. A key aspect to the project is that participants are required to attend economic education courses to help them achieve their savings goal and maintain economic self-sufficiency. Participants are then able to use their matched funds to buy a home.

Applications for the program are available at all Economic Security Corporation offices. Questions about the program can be directed to the Community Development division.

The winners of ESC Biggest Loser Challenge have been announced! The contest was open to all ESC staff members who wanted to lose weight and improve their health. It began with introductory weigh- ins on October 30th and continued until the final weigh- in on January 27th, 2007.

The winning team had a total combined weight loss of 6.9%. Team members included (pictured left to right): Ron Adkinson, Susan Van Hoose, Andrea Osiek and John Joines. They each received a $25 gift card to Academy Sports.

Susan was also the individual who attained the highest percentage of weight loss. During the contest she lost 15.5% of her weight! She also received a $100 gift card to Academy Sports for this accomplishment.

We would like to applaud everyone who participated in the contest and congratulate them on their progress toward a healthier lifestyle. We would also like to thank our insurance broker, Beimdiek Insurance Agency, for sponsoring the challenge!

Is there anything interesting going on in your department that you would like to share with our staff, board members and supporters? To have your information included in an upcoming issue of News from ESC, please contact Andrea Osiek at aosiek@escswa.org.