Deschutes County and NeighborImpact are set to receive a boost in funding for housing rehabilitation projects across Central Oregon.

From digging deeper wells to roof replacement to septic repair, $400,000 in federal grant funds will help an estimated 10 low-income households in rural areas of Central Oregon.

“One of the most effective strategies in homelessness is to keep people in their house,” Erik Kropp, Deschutes County’s deputy administrator, said at a Wednesday County Commission meeting.

The funds come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program. Deschutes County accepts the funds, and NeighborImpact distributes them through its home rehabilitation loan program.

County funds

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NeighborImpact currently has $3 million out on loan throughout Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties for home rehabilitation projects, said Andrew Spreadborough, NeighborImpact’s deputy director.

Spreadborough said demand for improvements to wells has increased over the past several years due to increasing drought conditions throughout the region.

“The emphasis on this project is on health and safety improvements,” he said. “That’s all we fund.”

The loans aren’t for new kitchen countertops or other aesthetic renovations, Spreadborough said.

“A lot of our borrowers are unable to obtain bank financing for one reason or another,” Spreadborough said.

NeighborImpact operates its program in such a way that the funds eventually become de-federalized, meaning they will no longer be subject to federal contingencies but continually add to the program’s funding over time.

“When the loans are repaid, they revolve out to new borrowers and the federal rules no longer apply to the funds,” Spreadborough said.

To qualify for a home rehabilitation loan, a household must make 80% or less of the area median income. That amounts to about $76,000 annually for a household of four in Deschutes County and $60,800 or less for households of four in Crook and Jefferson counties, according to federal limits.

Bend and Redmond residents do not qualify for NeighborImpact’s home rehabilitation loan program because the cities receive their own separate grant funds.