Decatur, Illinois, December 6th, 2021– Land of Lincoln Credit Union (LLCU) presented a check for $20,000 in grant monies to the City of Decatur on Monday afternoon. The grant funds will further supplement funds that the City is receiving through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, established by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) of 2021. The grant money and government funds will be used to invest in community revitalization efforts, such as the development of affordable housing, providing housing vouchers, providing services to address homelessness, providing residential counseling, and providing housing navigation assistance.
The fundamental goals of the Housing Rehabilitation program will be 1) To remove unhealthy or hazardous housing conditions in low and moderate income areas; 2) To encourage and enable residents of low and moderate income neighborhoods to improve their homes and participate in housing rehabilitation efforts; 3) To revitalize and preserve the existing housing stock; 4) To preserve and increase property values in low and moderate income neighborhoods; 5) To reduce utility costs through energy conservation systems; and 6) To create sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods in the urban core.
LLCU is providing the grant money to kick-off the Housing Rehabilitation Program but will also be an active partner in providing financial counseling and education to community members participating in the program. LLCU has over 35 certified Financial Counselors on staff who will regularly counsel participants in the program to lead them toward home ownership and/or home rehabilitation efforts.
“This partnership with the City of Decatur has been in the works for quite some time and we are so excited to be rolling it out to the community,” stated Robert Ares, President and CEO of Land of Lincoln Credit Union. “Our most important mission at LLCU is Education. Educating members of the community in financial matters in hopes of guiding them toward a healthy financial situation, one that includes achieving goals like being debt-free, having a strong credit score, and becoming a homeowner. This partnership with the City will be a strong catalyst toward finding a very appropriate avenue to work toward this mission.”
To learn more information about the City of Decatur Housing Rehabilitation Program, please contact the City of Decatur offices at 217-424-2700, or visit www.decaturil.gov
[Left to right: Richelle Dunbar (Dir. Neighborhood Services, City of Decatur), Jon Kindseth (Deputy City Manager, City of Decatur), Cordaryl Patrick (Dir. of Community Development, City of Decatur), Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe (City of Decatur), Robert Ares (President/CEO, LLCU), and Howard Martin (Chief Lending Officer, LLCU)