URP Grant Helps Local Resident

Though state legislature has reduced the funding opportunities for housing grant programs that benefit income-eligible recipients, residents can still get help from the City of Sanford.

The Sanford/Lee County Community Development department recently used the NC Housing Finance Agency's Urgent Repair Housing Program (URP) to help Tamiker Jackson, a Lee County resident with severe epilepsy who was born with an IQ of 51.

Jackson and her daughter Miracle lived in a home in need of serious repair, including holes in the floor, light switches pulled out of the wall, and light fixtures falling down. Using URP funds, along with additional funding from the City of Sanford and Lee County, the home was repaired and is now safe to live in.

Read more about Johnson and the repairs made to her home here.

URP provides funds to low and very-low income households that have housing conditions which pose imminent threats to life or safety. The program also provides accessibility modifications and other repairs necessary to keep elderly or special needs homeowners in their homes.

URP is one of the department's most utilized programs and the most well received by the community. For more information about the program, contact Karen Kennedy at 919-777-1113.