Waste Management grants $5K to self-help housing program

Waste Management recently awarded a $5,000 Think Green Grant to Milford Housing Development Corporation to support its self-help housing program that provides homeownership opportunities for low-income participants.

Working in small groups of families, participants help build one another’s homes together and foster group cohesion over a year-long construction process. Key program features include: no down payment; mortgage rates as low as 1 percent, Energy Star-rated homes in many locations, and no experience necessary. 

Participating families are required to provide approximately 65 percent of the labor for home construction. This equates to roughly 1,300 hours in work committed and over $32,000 in sweat equity per home. To date, the corporation has created more than 200 self-help homes in Delaware. 

“We are pleased that Milford Housing Development Corporation was selected to receive the 2019 Think Green Grant on behalf of the Greater Mid-Atlantic Region of Waste Management. Their dedication to community revitalization through the self-help housing program has improved the lives of so many individuals and families in our area,” said Pete Grim, district manager.

The Waste Management Think Green Grant is part of the company’s commitment to encourage the development and sustainability of environmental solutions that improve a community’s ecosystems. The merit-based grant program supports projects implemented to address local community needs.

For more information, go to www.milfordhousing.com.