This measure captures the number of households/persons assisted through all Neighborhood Housing and Community Development (NHCD) housing repair programs under the Homeowner Assistance category:  Architectural Barrier Removal (ABR) Program – Owner, Emergency Home Repair (EHR) Program, Homeowner Rehabilitation Loan Program (HRLP), LeadSmart Program, G.O. Repair! and Holly Good Neighbor Program. This measure provides a snapshot of the total impact of these programs provided to the community.

This measure is calculated by summing the total number of households and persons assisted through the above listed housing repair programs.

The goal for FY 2014-15 was to serve 670 households. In FY 2014-15, NHCD served 622 households, achieving 93% of the goal.  

Homeowner assistance programs assisted 622 households in FY 2014-15, including services such as Architectural Barrier Removal, Homeowner Rehabilitation Loans, Lead Hazard Reduction, and bond-funded home repairs and Emergency Home Repair. Several factors contributed to the underperformance in FY 2014-15. For example, there were fewer contractors who participated in the Emergency Home Repair program operated by the Austin Area Urban League, which resulted in fewer homes repaired. Also, the Lead Hazard reduction program did not receive as many applications as anticipated and a percentage of the inspected homes did not contain lead.

Home repair activities are a high priority and are considered critical for NHCD. Austin Area Urban League has added additional contractors for the current fiscal year and is actively recruiting new participants. Moreover, the Department is working closely with other departments to increase client referrals. The City of Austin will be expanding the program to incorporate Travis County, which will offer additional clientele.  Furthermore, the City of Austin has entered into a partnership with the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) to bring all the repair programs under a single application and delivery platform. The Department is working closely with Austin Energy and other non-profit partners to create a unified application and a method of allocating program costs. There are several objectives of the GHHI, of which reducing the number of work days lost due to health issues caused by health hazards is high priority. NHCD has spearheaded the initiative and aims to bring all repair programs under the GHHI umbrella in the next 5 years.

For more information contact Rebecca Giello, Assistant Director, at 512-974-3045.

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