Grant to help mentally disabled own a home

Angela Soo

Tuesday, April 17, 2001 | 8:27 a.m.

Owning a new home moved closer to a reality for more than a dozen mentally disabled people Monday, when Opportunity Village received a grant for $350,000 to help them through the process.

The money, presented by Sen. Harry Reid, will provide up to $25,000 in financial assistance for costs such as down payments to 15 clients of the nonprofit agency, Sandy Edwards, senior project manager of Opportunity Village, said. The assistance will be provided as interest-free loans.

"It will be on a first-come, first-served basis for people who qualify for a loan," Edwards said. "The clients themselves will be screened by the mortgage company."

Guild Mortgage will organize the loans and Fannie Mae HomeChoice will serve as the investor, said Corie Craig, senior deputy director of Fannie Mae Nevada partnership office.

"Most loan officers and mortgage companies don't usually do this, because it's time consuming," Craig said. "The borrowers don't know anything about the mortgage process."

The federal grant money is especially important to Craig, because she has a son with multiple disabilities and would like to see more independent living options available to disabled persons.

"It's terribly exciting," Ed Guthrie, executive director of Opportunity Village, said. "I'm looking forward to being able to offer a chance for people to buy a safe and affordable home."

To be eligible, applicants must also be employed.

Opportunity Village provides the job training and employment opportunities to help with that, Linda Smith, development director of Opportunity Village, said. Clients learn important job retention skills, such as staying focused.

"They are very appreciative of the job that they get," Smith said. "If they go out to work for a company and get that extra support in the beginning, then they prove to be the most loyal employee."

The only problem is, there isn't enough support for mentally disabled people in the work force, Beverly Hurley, production supervisor at Opportunity Village workshop, said.

"There's not a lot of acceptance out there," Hurley said.

The nonprofit organization does its best to help clients become successful, and now, part of that success means owning a home.

"The American dream is to have a home to call your own," Reid said. "And now we're going to help people buy homes that people never dreamed of."