Six organizations in Allegheny County will receive a combined $1.36 million for housing initiatives from Pennsylvania’s Keystone Communities Program. The state fund awards economic development grants across the Commonwealth.
Among the recipients is Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, a nonprofit that provides free repairs, renovations and home rehabilitations to low-income homeowners. CEO Alan Sisco said the grant money will go to fund improvements for older adults and people with disabilities.
According to the nonprofit, 70% of its projects included fall-prevention repairs, reducing the risk of falling among high-risk adults by 39%.
“Rebuilding Together works in neighborhoods where the need for safe, healthy and affordable housing is high and we try to work in concert with those communities,” Sisco said.
The organization is slated to receive $197,225 from the state for its Aging in Place Home Modification Program, according to Gov. Tom Wolf’s announcement Tuesday. Sisco said, while every dollar counts, accessibility projects are expensive.
“We don't shy away from the fact that doing significant accessibility [work] is going to come at a significant cost,” Sisco explained. “We're looking to serve somewhere between 10 and 15 homeowners with this money.”
Rebuilding Together has partnered with several communities just outside Pittsburgh, where Sisco said the work is especially needed. The nonprofit is working with the City of McKeesport and the Tri-COG Land Bank to facilitate housing repairs and rehabilitations, as well as the sale of renovated homes to income-qualified buyers as affordable housing.
“One of the gaps that we find in the sort of funding community that supports our work is money to provide really comprehensive accessibility repairs, especially outside the city,” Sisco added. “The Urban Redevelopment Authority has a great accessibility program that they operate, but that is only in the city of Pittsburgh. Over half our clients are in the county.”
The Pittsburgh URA will receive $150,000 in Keystone Communities funding for its Homeowner Accessibility Program for Independence, which provides grants to landlords and low-income residents with disabilities. Awards range from $1,000 up to $15,000 for a single-unit home.
Other projects to get funding from the Keystone Communities program include $500,000 for the Allegheny County Housing Authority’s overhaul of Hawkins Village — renamed Heritage Highlands — in Rankin, $350,000 for Mon Valley Initiative’s efforts to convert Braddock’s First United Presbyterian Church into eight mixed-income apartments and $132,900 for home rehabilitations led by the Perry Hilltop Citizens Council.
The state will hand out nearly $8 million in grants to projects in 30 counties across the Commonwealth.
