PRESCOTT (By Rachelle Bump, Daily Courier) August 21, 2005 - Some people are at a loss when it comes to leaky roofs, broken furnaces, chipped paint and cracked plumbing, but there are organizations in the area that are ready to come to the rescue for people who qualify.

Home Repair is a program of the Interfaith Coalition for Compassion and Justice that helps low-income people qualify for help with repairing their home.

Buz Davies, director of the coalition, said the organization stands ready to help people in need of health or safety repairs on their home if they qualify for the program.

He said that in order to qualify, participants must be in a certain income bracket and must also have a referral from a social service agency, such as St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Social Service or the Salvation Army.

For those who do, "We go out and assess the person's home, and if we have the money and the volunteers available, we'll fix it," Davies said.

Such repairs might include fixing a water heater, furnace, plumbing or a leaky roof, or adding handrails or wheelchair ramps in the home. He said their program "relies on volunteers, grants and donations."

Davies said Home Repair has about 30 volunteers and helped about 30 people last year.

Helping young and old

Fritzi Mevis, co-director of Home Repair, said many of the organization's clients are elderly or chronically ill, but many are young families or single parents.

"Many times, they're homebound, but not necessarily," she said. "They're in a situation where they can't get out there and hammer themselves."

Mevis said people who meet the income requirements must also own the home or mobile home in need of repairs.

She said there are plenty of people in the area who need this kind of help.

"You don't have to look very far to find homes in Prescott that are in bad shape," she said. Donna Hastings, rural development manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development located in Prescott Valley, said it offers loans and grants for people who live in rural areas in Yavapai County (Prescott is excluded) for home repairs.

She said people must meet a certain income requirement to qualify, and it offers a loan for up to $20,000 with a 1 percent interest rate. She said people who receive this loan have 20 years to pay it back.

They can use it for safety and health repairs and for new paint, carpet or vinyl.

For those who cannot afford to pay back the loan and are 62 years old or older, Hastings said they offer a grant "for health and safety repairs only."

To obtain either the grant or the loan, Hastings said those interested must own the property they would like to have repaired.

Demand for services

She said there is a great need in the county for people to receive these services.

"We're not in it for the money," she said. "We just want to provide safe and sanitary housing for people."

Carl Stewart is the program specialist with Northern Arizona Council of Governments. He said Prescott Valley has a grant through the Arizona Department of Housing, and "they hired NACOG to make things happen and fix people's homes."

He said the services it offers are for people who live in Prescott Valley, are in a certain income margin and own their own property.

He said they make safety and health repairs, and they will also paint the outside of a home "to make it more attractive in the neighborhood."