Mahoning commissioners deliver ARP funds to agencies for home repairs, summer camp for people with disabilities - Mahoning Matters


The $750,000 in American Rescue Plan funding Mahoning County commissioners allocated Thursday will go toward helping county residents with emergency home repairs, as well as the development of a fully handicapped-accessible summer camp in Coitsville.

Commissioners on Thursday allocated $500,000 from the county’s expected $44 million in ARP COVID-19 relief funding to Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, which will use the money to help low- to moderate-income homeowners in Mahoning County with emergency home repairs — things like a “severely deteriorated and actively leaking roof,” furnaces or significant plumbing issues, said Executive Director Ian Beniston.

“We do a significant volume. We have seen, since the pandemic began, even greater call volume,” he told Mahoning Matters on Thursday. “The office manager was just telling me today that we have 36 emergency repair calls today.”

Beniston thinks some homeowners may have pushed off repairs amid the pandemic — possibly due to lost income — or perhaps the fact that people were spending more time at home may have caused utilities to fail sooner than expected.

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