Last week folks in Browning, East Glacier Park and Heart Butte were invited to attend presentations on a home repair grant. People living on and off the Reservation were encouraged on Facebook to come to the Stick Game Arbor, Women’s Club or the Senior Center to learn about a program aimed at a number of common homeownership issues that may be resolved for free.
Robert Crawford of the Blackfeet Homeownership Program and Naomi Valentine, Housing Network Coordinator of NeighborWorks Kalispell and Co-Chair of the Montana Native American Homeownership Coalition, described the opportunities and fielded questions from the audience. Regulations, they said, prevent them from advertising the grant and is the reason for the series of direct presentations.
A state-funded federal program utilizing COVID-19 resources, the grant provides money for essential home repairs to improve safety, accessibility and living conditions. Repairs may include, but are not limited to, electrical, plumbing, roofs and foundations. Mold and asbestos contamination are included, in addition to mortgages and back taxes.
Both speakers described the application process as “difficult.” But Valentine said there are people trained locally to help with the process. She estimated it will require around two months to complete.
“We’re designing a pipeline for the Reservation which will mean more funding coming here,” she said. “We don’t want to send the money back to the feds. We’re going to spend money!”
“I have inspectors and contractors to streamline the process,” Crawford said. “Our priorities are elders and handicapped so we’ll work with them to get it right.”
Having vetted contractors who have agreed to the work in advance, Crawford said he will receive lists of repairs and bids from both the inspectors and the contractors. That puts him in a position to make sure costs are kept within reason.
One must own the home in question, although it doesn’t matter whether the mortgage is paid or not. The home may be on fee or trust land, but it must be a primary residence, not rented or leased out. Although the presentation was aimed at those living nearby, Valentine said the home need not be on the Reservation.
“It’s just who applies first,” she said.
Asked about inheritance, Valentine said the home must be in the name of the heir, not the deceased.
Crawford said his job is to resolve issues each individual homeowner may encounter in one-on-one conversations. Valentine noted people are being trained to go out into the communities to contact folks without online access to help them apply and gather their documentation.
Crawford gathered folks’ email addresses at the presentations, sending each a Google form to fill out to start the process. He emphasized this is not the application itself – instead it gives his department the information they need to make a successful application with all the needed documentation.
For those not attending, Crawford recommends visiting the Blackfeet Homeownership page on Facebook where a link to the Google form is posted. His office is located at Glacier Laundry, next to Glacier Family Foods, and he may be reached at 406-470-1124.