Cleveland creates program to connect homeowners with home-fixing resources

Cleveland is launching a new project that will essentially give homeowners a free consultation for fixing their homes.

The $1 million Community Engagement Healthy Home Program will hire community engagement specialists who will identify parts of the city in which homes need the most help, News 5 Cleveland reports. The specialists will then connect homeowners and landlords to training, education and resources for making those fixes.

The 14 community engagement specialists will be hired through nonprofit organizations, Cleveland.com reports. The specialists will focus on evaluating properties based on housing code violations.

“Many of the issues now are about the ability of many of our residents to meet the building code requirements,” Cleveland Community Development Director Tania Menesse told the Cleveland City Council’s Finance Committee, according to Cleveland.com.

One of the resources the specialists will offer is a new city program that will give homeowners up to $1,500 for paint and supplies for painting home exteriors, Cleveland.com reports. Other resources they’ll connect homeowners with include homestead exemptions and kindergarten signups.

The specialists affiliated with the new program won’t be enforcing housing code, however. Instead, they will serve as a pre-emptive aid before homeowners are cited by building inspectors, according to Cleveland.com.

The city aims to hire specialists around December and will identify where the specialists will work first by the end of 2019, according to News 5.