RELATED: McCrabb: Middletown judge lived an ‘adventurous’ life
Qualifying veterans are eligible for up to $15,000 in repair assistance, Bergman said.
He said Wall, 70, a Vietnam veteran who died Feb. 11, was active in numerous veteran organizations and programs.
Bergman said an effort to help veterans in the Middletown area is “a great way to pay tribute” to the judge’s memory.
“He cared deeply about what happened in Butler County,” Bergman said about Judge Wall, who served as Middletown Municipal Court judge for 23 years. “He was so deeply involved with veterans.”
RELATED: ‘He was always fair’: Community remembers Judge Mark Wall
Bergman, who delivered one of the eulogies at Wall’s funeral, said he was “blown away” by the number of people who attended the visitation, funeral and gravesite services.
“That showed me how important Mark was to the Middletown community,” said Bergman, who retired from the Ford Motor Co. and moved to Cincinnati.
RELATED: Middletown Judge Mark Wall remembered for compassion, fairness
As part of the Repairs Corps, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati will be completing home repairs that range from minor outside repairs to critical home repairs. Each of the repair programs offers a variety of repayment options.
In order to keep the cost of repairs affordable to those most in need, no interest will charged on any home repair loan, Bergman said. Loan repayment plans will be structured on a case by case basis taking into consideration the entire household income and debt obligations.
The applicants selected for the Repairs Corps Program are required to invest 16 hours of labor as “sweat equity” preferably engaging in the repairs for their homes, assisting volunteers with the repair on their home or even working at Habitat build sites or ReStore, he said.
There are three primary criteria for selection of Habitat Repair Corp Partner Families:
- A qualifying critical repair that threatens the health, safety, access, or ownership of the home or minor exterior repairs that are needed such as painting, gutter repairs, etc.
- Ability to make regular monthly payments to repay any 0 percent, interest free loan. For veterans who are honorably discharged, there is no charge for repairs
- Partnering with Habitat by agreeing to provide family photograph and personal biography and earning the required sweat equity.
Since Habitat receives far more applications than the number of homes it will be able to repair, this process is competitive. Only the applicants who best meet the above criteria will be chosen, Bergman said.
For more information, contact Habitat for Humanity at 513-482-5609 or go to www.habitatcincinnati.org.
About the Author