Wilson County was awarded a $500,000 grant Thursday as part of the HOME program, which will be used to make home repairs for low-income homeowners.

The grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Tennessee Housing Development Agency.

Pictured from left to right are: Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto, Rep. Susan Lynn, Rep. Clark Boyd, Wilson County ADA Coordinator Jim Kidwell, Middle TN Liaison for THDA and Sen. Mark Pody pose with a $500,000 HOME Grant check.

“This HOME Program funding is important, because it goes to the people that need it most,” said THDA executive director Ralph M. Perrey. “This money will assist homeowners in Wilson County to make repairs to their homes that they would not have been able to make otherwise.”

The grant was secured in large part thanks to the work of Jim Kidwell, ADA coordinator in the Wilson County mayor’s office, who reached out to other departments within the state government to get the much-needed grant money.

Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto said he was proud of the work done by Kidwell for making housing safer and stronger throughout Wilson County.

“We’re going to try and get the most out of this $500,000 that we can and help as many individuals as possible who just need a little bit of help to stay in their home, whether it’s a senior or someone who is disabled or a veteran or whoever that might be,” Hutto said.

Kidwell said most of the renovations will be focused on potential code violations such as wiring, plumbing and structural issues affecting the home, with a public hearing to be held in the near future to outline application procedures and grant guidelines.

“It kind of fills in the gaps,” Kidwell said. “You know, maybe some people aren’t able to quite afford repairs themselves so this kind of gets them over the hump and helps them out.”

Denise McBride, Middle Tennessee liaison for the THDA Housing CONNECT Team, awarded the check and said the winter months are especially a good time for residents of Wilson County to be helped out with needed home repairs.

“This is what people need to continue to live a healthy life in their homes,” McBride said.

Newly re-elected state Sen. Mark Pody, Rep. Susan Lynn and Rep. Clark Boyd also attended the presentation of the check.