Tony Overman/The Olympian
Orianna Clarke, 5, stands in the front yard of her family's home in Littlerock. Orianna's mother, Elza Clarke, received a Thurston County Housing Rehabilitation grant to fix pro- blems, including shoring up the foundation and replacing the exterior's lead-tainted paint. The program recently received $500,000 to help other county homeowners.

Grant gives homeowners a hand

25 to 30 houses in unincorporated Thurston County will be repaired

LORRINE THOMPSON THE OLYMPIAN

THURSTON COUNTY -- Things started going wrong shortly after Elza Clarke bought a small home near Maytown three years ago.

The single mother of two found gaps in the walls, leaks in the roof, a failing septic system and a foundation that started sinking on one side.

"The joke was, if you had gravy on your plate, it needed to be on the east side of the plate because it would run off the west side," Clarke said with a laugh.

Clarke can laugh now because the house she calls "the miniature money pit" is being retrofitted through a county rehabilitation program that helps low- and moderate-income people stay in their homes.

Clarke is among hundreds of Thurston County residents who have gotten help through the program.

Now the opportunity is open to more county residents.

The rehabilitation program received an infusion of money this month with a $500,000 grant awarded through a federal housing program that is administered by the state.

It will allow retrofitting of 25 to 30 substandard houses in the unincorporated county. Applications for the program are being accepted.

325 homes repaired

Out of 30 grant applications submitted statewide for this year's community development grants, Thurston County's ranked first, said Dan Riebli, the grant program manager.

"Thurston County's rehabilitation program has a really good history," Riebli said.

Since the program began in 1986, about 325 homes have been retrofitted, said Bob Ricks, housing development manager for the Thurston County Housing Authority.

Thurston County officials apply for the grants, then contract with the Housing Authority to run the program.

"It has worked extremely well," Ricks said. "There are a lot of folks in the low- to moderate-income levels who have serious problems with their home that are beyond their abilities to repair."

Common types of repairs include wiring, plumbing, foundation work, roofing, rot repair, septic system work and more.

The program involves a zero-interest loan that is repaid when a home is sold, Ricks said. That repayment money goes back into the program.

"We just see a lot of people who have a difficult time repairing their homes," he said. "A lot of them are elderly, and they don't know if they can stay in their homes."

Clarke wonders how long she could have stayed in hers without the program.

Contractors finished shoring up the home's foundation shortly before the Feb. 28 earthquake, "otherwise it probably wouldn't be standing," she said.

The program has also provided a new pump for the well, a new roof, and will replace siding and add insulation in the next few weeks.

Clarke calls the rehabilitation program a "small miracle."

Clarke, an educational assistant at a special needs preschool for the Tumwater School District, bought the small home because it was what she could afford, and because it was a struggle to find rental homes as a single mother of two.

"It's a dream come true," she said of owning a home. "I know that's trite, but it's true."

Lorrine Thompson covers Thurston County and health for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5431 or lcthomps@olympia.gannett.com.

To learn more

Applications are being accepted for Thurston County's housing rehabilitation program. Information and income qualifications are available at www.hatc.org (click on "Home repairs") or by calling Mike Miranda at 360-753-8292.

On the Web:

- Thurston County

The Olympian Copyright 2002

back to main Home Page Stories index