Wicomico Habitat Receives $45,000 Repair Funding Grant from Rural Maryland Council

Salisbury, MD — Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County (HFHWC) has been awarded a $45,000 grant from the Rural Maryland Council to support critical home repairs for mobile homeowners in Wicomico and Somerset counties who own their homes but live on rented or leased land. The funding will help address urgent repairs, with a particular focus on damaged roofs, for homeowners who often face barriers to accessing traditional home repair assistance because their homes are located on leased land.

Across Wicomico and Somerset counties, there are 41 mobile home parks containing 1,653 pad sites. Within those communities, HFHWC has identified 62 homes in need of critical roof repairs. For homeowners living in these properties, a damaged roof is more than just a repair that needs to be made. It can cause water damage, lead to bigger problems with the home, and make living conditions unsafe. For many families, the cost of fixing these problems can be difficult to afford.

“Habitat has been advocating resources to help mobile homeowners on leased land for the past two years,” says Stephen Feliciano, Critical Home Repair Program Manager for HFHWC. “This is a population that has too often gone unserved when it comes to critical home repair support. This $45,000 award from the Rural Maryland Council allows us to begin addressing critical roof repairs for families already on our waitlist, and we’re grateful that they answered the call. It’s a start, and we hope it’s the beginning of a much broader commitment to meeting this need.”

Owning a mobile home on rented or leased land can limit their homeowners’ access to traditional federal and state home repair programs and leave them with fewer resources to address critical repairs. The Rural Maryland Council grant gives HFHWC the flexibility to reach some of these families and address repairs that might otherwise be delayed or unfinished and potentially lead to health issues or even homelessness for the owners.

Habitat for Humanity works to make homeownership of safe, affordable homes a matter of conscience and action. Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County was founded in 1987. Since then, the affiliate has served 98 families with affordable homeownership and 184 families with critical home repairs. For more information, visit www.wicomicohabitat.org.