This state program could help homeowners with repairs, and Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Southwest Philly to make the case for it

A year after moving into her Southwest Philadelphia home, Dominique Young’s initial excitement over being a first-time home buyer evaporated when her electrical heater began to fail.

One particularly cold evening, the mother of two children had no option but to rent an Airbnb for the night to keep her family warm. It was the last straw for Young, who searched for emergency repair services and came across Pennsylvania’s Whole Home Repairs Program.

Today, Young’s rowhouse is outfitted with a new heating system thanks to the program, which in 2022 offered Pennsylvania’s counties funding to assist homeowners who could not afford high-priority repairs.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed a $50 million investment in the program as part of his budget for the next fiscal year — and he stood outside Young’s home on Friday to tout the program as a “common sense” investment in a state where more than half of homes are at least 50 years old.

The program rolled out with the use of federal funds but is not active in the current fiscal year, after it was cut in a final budget deal reached in December. Shapiro is pushing lawmakers to revive it.

“It is a way we can come together to cut costs for Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians and deliver real results for folks who need it most,” Shapiro said. “As a result of this work, we’re helping people stay in their homes.”

State Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia), who championed the initial program, stood alongside Shapiro on Friday.

“Every person has a right to a home that is safe and healthy,” Saval said, “but hundreds of thousands of people across our commonwealth are denied this right simply because they lack access to the resources they need and deserve their homes.”

State Sen. Anthony H. Williams (D., Philadelphia), also spoke in support of the program, saying it would serve people who did not feel “appreciated and recognized” by government.

The event was briefly interrupted when Williams fainted while Shapiro was speaking. Williams rested on the steps of a nearby home for several minutes, before being helped away after colleagues suggested he leave.

“Thankfully, it seems as though I was dehydrated, but I went to the hospital for testing just to be on the safe side,” Williams said in a statement Friday afternoon. “I am feeling much better (and staying hydrated!) and am so grateful for your concerns and well wishes!”

Whole-Home Repairs covers a variety of repairs, from fixing damaged floors and roofs to improving energy and water efficiency. Up to $50,000 is available per homeowner, whose household income must not exceed more than 80% of the area’s median income. Small landlords can also receive forgivable loans from the program to keep rents affordable for tenants.

Over 1,000 Pennsylvanians have participated in the program, according to Saval. He said demand is “overwhelming,” adding that counties have received between four and 25 times more applications than they have the resources to serve.

But the program’s rollout has not come without challenges. A 2023 Spotlight PA report found that many counties have capped the $50,000 grants at around half that amount, and most counties had not awarded loans to small landlords for housing affordability due to strict requirements for monitoring the funds. Those issues were coupled with construction labor shortages.

Southwest Philadelphia was the third recent stop for Shapiro as he pushes the program as part of his ambitious $48.3 billion budget proposal.

A divided General Assembly, however, presents hurdles as Shapiro seeks bipartisan support for his budget ahead of a July deadline. But the governor emphasized that it previously received bipartisan support.

“We all come together and seed a lot of programs, and then you study how they work,” Shapiro said. “This one is off the charts successful.”