The Gilbert Family Foundation, ProMedica and DTE Energy have partnered for a new program that will provide home repairs to homeowners in Detroit whose incomes qualify them for help.
The organizations said they will help with repairs to roofs, foundations, stairs, windows, drywall and more for homeowners whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
Officials at the organizations said they expect the $20 million dollar repair fund to serve more than 1,000 homes in the next three years.
Trevor Lauer is the President of DTE Energy. "We’re really going to be able to, as a group, more holistically address the issues that some of these customers have to go above and beyond normal energy efficiency. Look, a lot of the customers and a lot of the people that will have this don’t have the means to do this on their own," he said.
The Gilbert Family foundation noted in a press release accompanying the fund's announcement that, "a 2020 report by the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions found that approximately 8,500 owner-occupied homes in Detroit are 'inadequate or severely inadequate,' as defined by [the] Department of Housing and Urban Development’s American Housing Survey."
"This instability creates a negative cycle that erodes the health of Detroit families and threatens the preservation of generational wealth," the press release continued.
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield said home repair grants was the program she heard most often requested by Detroiters.
"Home repair is critical in stabilizing neighborhoods," she said. "It shuts off the pipeline to blight in our communities."
Detroit homeowners will need to apply to the 2022 Homeowner Property Exemption to be eligible for assistance from the repair fund.
Residents can call 313-306-2082 to inquire.
