An east Tulsa organization is investing directly into the community with a new program offering homeowners up to $10,000 to make home repairs.
Nonprofit Eastside Rise is focused on empowering residents and business owners while preserving the community’s diverse cultures — all while the eastside experiences major growth.
“Investments in your community can be wonderful, and they can also be scary,” said Luisa Krug, executive director of Eastside Rise. “I think our thought process was really like, how do we, from the very beginning, be thinking about programs that can support people staying in their homes?”
Eastside Rise’s new homeowner repair program, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is aimed at supporting neighbors in the Cooper neighborhood near the intersection of 21st and Garnett.
Eastside Rise selected Cooper due to its high rate of homeownership, about 60%, and low household incomes.
“Knowing that housing is such an important topic in Tulsa, it was like, ‘what can we do to preserve the housing that we have and preserve the people that live in the housing?’” Krug said.
Maria Nunez, a resident in east Tulsa, says she doesn’t own a home, but thinks this program could help the largely Hispanic community where she lives.
“I feel like this would be a great way to assist (the) community,” Nunez said. “Eastside Tulsa (has) a lot of Hispanic community, who I think will definitely find it beneficial to get something like this, to renovate anything from their home.”
Krug says this program is an example of Eastside Rise’s mission to provide the resources and support for the east Tulsa community to build wealth. Over time, she hopes the program will help develop an ongoing relationship with neighbors.
“In the longer term, starting to see the property values in our community grow while not seeing the displacement of the people who live there is definitely success,” Krug said.
The application window is open for the homeowner repair program. To be eligible, you must meet the following requirements:
- Be a homeowner in the Cooper neighborhood. You must have owned your home for five or more years, and you can’t live on a floodplain or owe back taxes.
- Make low to moderate income (as defined here), which equates to $72,000 or less a year for a family of four.
- Participate in ongoing reporting and evaluation throughout the program, which includes sharing information with funders and completing feedback surveys.
About 20 homeowners will be selected for the program, which has about $150,000 in funds to distribute. Eligible repairs include:
- Roofing
- Plumbing
- Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
- Electrical systems
- Lead paint or mold rehabilitation
- Insulation
- Accessibility modifications
After submitting an application, homeowners should expect to hear fairly quickly if they’ve been approved, Krug said. Applicants will then meet with Eastside Rise to discuss next steps, including home inspections and visits from contractors.
Contractors interested in participating in the program or submitting bids can see eligibility requirements on the Eastside Rise website.
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Eastside Rise received financial support from the George Kaiser Family Foundation for the homeowner repair program. GKFF also provided financial support for the Tulsa Flyer. News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
