Just in time for Christmas, three longtime residents of McKinney were gifted taxpayer-funded homes as part of an effort to confront the increased cost of living associated with home ownership, reported NBC 5 DFW.
Zeta White is one of those residents whose house had fallen into disrepair after living in McKinney for almost 20 years.
“I saw a lot of days in here, and I did the best I could with it,” White said.
White said that her house was infested by rats and snakes, causing her to leave her home to go to a homeless shelter.
“It’s very hard for old people to say that you need help,” White said, who contacted city officials asking for assistance.
White was moved to the top of a waiting list for housing rehabilitation, which could include everything from small repairs to complete reconstruction.
Cristel Todd, an administrator of the city’s Affordable Housing Office, told NBC 5 DFW that the program was meant to help elderly residents whose homes were worn down or in disrepair.
“This will allow our elderly to age in place. Some of these homes are too far gone, so we can’t just rehab them and we want to keep as much affordable housing as possible,” Todd said.
The backlog for services related to housing is long, but Todd said that the program has helped 100 families so far.
McKinney is also working on a land trust to help longtime residents like White live out their days in the place where they grew up.
“Now that I’m home, it’s unbelievable. It’s unspeakable joy. You can’t say what it really means,” White said.
Todd previously said that the rising cost of materials has caused the program to expend more taxpayer money than it used to. However, the cost of repairing a home is still cheaper than demolishing and building a new one, she noted.
Some of the rehabs the City has done have cost more than $100,000, and have been funded by taxpayer money.
