Minor Home Repair / Continuing Hope Program

How it works

The City of Columbus includes the Continuing Hope Program, formerly known as Project Care, in its housing and community development plans as a minor home repair program. The plan says the program assists income-eligible homeowners with needed repair, maintenance, weatherization, safety, and beautification of homes.

What the money covers

The official plan language is broad and does not list a detailed materials schedule. It does explicitly include:

• repairs
• maintenance
• weatherization
• safety work
• beautification

Amounts and scope

The 2019 annual action plan lists CDBG funding of $150,000 for the program and says it would assist up to 10 income-eligible homeowners. A 2017 council agenda item says the program would help elderly/disabled homeowners with repairs such as roofs, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical, with up to $10,000 per house.

How it is administered

The city’s agenda documents show the program being administered through Columbus Area Habitat for Humanity.

Timing

The annual action plan is an older plan document, but the city’s more recent budget still shows a Project Care line item, suggesting the program has continued in some form. The official documents I found do not clearly state a current open application date on the cited page.