"Helping people, changing lives, and making communities a better place to live."




"Helping people, changing lives, and making communities a better place to live." Mid's mission is accomplished one house at a time through programs administered by the Housing Department. These programs promote safe, decent, affordable and appropriate housing for low to moderate income individuals, families and homeowners.
As a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO), Mid can receive HOME and Nebraska Affordable Housing Trust funds to:

  • Develop new single family housing for home ownership,
  • Purchase new homes, rehabilitate to meet local building costs and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development Rehabilitation Standards, and provide downpayment assistance to first-time home buyers to purchase the homes.
  • Administer programs providing loans or grant to allow homeowners in rehabilitating their houses.
    • Buffalo, Franklin, Harlan, Kearney and Phelps counties
    • Frontier, Furnas, Gosper, and Red Willow counties
  • Provide REACH home buyer education workshops covering the basics of home ownership, including financing options. REACH classes are offered on the 2nd Tuesday and Thursday of each month from 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. at 16 West 11th Street, Kearney, NE. There is a $25 fee for the class. For more information, contact Bev Anderson at (308) 865-5675 or click here for the REACH brochure (Requires Adobe Reader).

In addition, the Housing Department offers the following programs throughout the Agency's service area:

  • Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) - The WAP strives to reduce energy costs for low-income families, particularly the elderly, people with disabilities, and children, while safeguarding their health and safety. This service is available to owner occupied and rental households.
  • Purchase, Rehab, Resale Program - Buffalo County

Mid is an Equal Housing Opportunity Agency

Housing Success Story:

*Carol is a 54 year old widow with Multiple Sclerosis who applied for assistance with her housing through a Community Development Block Program (CDBG) project that Mid administered. At the time of her original application, Carol was working 35 hours/week at the local grocery store. Due to a setback with her MS, she was unable to continue this employment. The loss of her job forced Carol to rely solely on her Social Security Disability benefits, leaving her no extra money for home repair.

Mid was able to blend funds from CDBG, the Weatherization Assistance Program, and the Assistive Technology Partnership (ATP) to make the repairs Carol needed to make her home safe, accessible and affordable. CDBG funds replaced 10 drafty windows and the basement stairs which were unsafe due to water and termite damage. The landing area and a new handrail were installed through the CDBG project. The Weatherization Program provided attic, sidewall and crawl space insulation and a new safe, efficient furnace with central air conditioning. Compact fluorescent light bulbs were also installed to further reduce Carol's utility bill. In addition, a referral was made to and approved by ATP for a handicapped accessible bathroom. All of these improvements will allow Carol to remain in her home.

At this time, Carol is working with the local Vocational Rehabilitation Services office to learn new marketable job skills which will allow her to obtain employment in a new area.

She is extremely grateful for all the help she received. It is this gratitude that compels Mid to continually seek new ways to help people, change lives, and make communities better place to live.
*Name of the customer has been changed to protect our customer's privacy.

Mission: to reduce energy costs for low-income families, particularly the elderly, people with disabilities, and children, while safeguarding their health and safety.
The WAP makes it possible for low-income families to permanently reduce their energy bills. Contractors or crews install energy efficiency measures in approx. 250 homes/year occupied by qualifying low-income families free of charge. These are not expensive upgrades – the average cost is $2744 per home. By reducing the energy bills of low-income families instead of offering aid, WAP reduces dependency & frees up funds for spending on more pressing family issues.

The Weatherization Program at Mid:

  • Serves 27 counties with a staff of ten - 1 Construction Manager, 2 Housing Technicians, two 2-person crews, a Crew Leader, Program Director and Housing Coordinator.
  • Administers 2 Contracts - funding received from the Nebraska Energy Office (NEO):
    Department of Energy (DOE) and Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) = ~250 homes/year

Weatherization Qualifications:

  1. 125% of federal poverty guidelines (1 person - $11,963)
  2. Households are served by priority:
    • Senior w/disability 60+
    • Senior
    • Disabled
    • Native American
    • Household with children less than the age of six
    • All other low income
  3. Owners and Renters (with/landlord permission) - Frame and Mobile

Procedure:

  1. Referrals by Mid Community Service Coordinators
  2. Waiting list
  3. Initial inspection (Back draft test, CO test, efficiency inspection & National Energy Audit info)
  4. Work completed by contractor or crew - annual bid basis - $2672 average/home for material & labor
  5. Provide insulation and seal direct penetrations
  6. Final inspection by Mid (Backdraft & CO test) and 10 - 50% monitored by NEO

Housing Rehabilitation Mission: Promote an adequate supply of quality, affordable, appropriate housing for low-and-moderate income individuals, families, and homeowners, including persons with special housing needs

Housing Rehabilitation at Mid:

  • Mid works with communities to complete the process required to submit a grant application to DED
  • If successful, Mid will administer the project in the community-up to $25,000/home for improvements
  • Improvements include:
    • Health and safety measures - unsafe heating systems or electric wiring; egress;
    • Energy saving measures - insulation, primary & storm windows; doors
    • Structural measures - foundations; roofs; stairs;
    • Mechanical upgrades - modernization of plumbing, electrical, furnace

Housing Rehabilitation Qualifications:

  1. 80% of the area median income
  2. Property must be below the Nebraska Department of Economic Development Housing Rehab

Procedure:

  1. Homeowner completes a Pre-Application form
  2. Waiting list
  3. Homeowner completes the interview process & detailed application
  4. Initial inspection
  5. Agency assists homeowner with procurement of contractor
  6. Work is completed by the contractor selected by the homeowner
  7. Final inspection by Mid

Current Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation (OOR) projects:

  • Gosper County ~ 6 homes
  • Franklin/Webster Counties ~ 12 homes
  • Furnas/Frontier/Red Willow Counties ~ 18 homes


Mid is an Equal Housing Opportuntiy Agency

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