Memorial Day tornadoes: New path for survivors to become first-time homeowners

Mar. 30—A Monday groundbreaking opened a new avenue for renters who lost their homes in 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes to achieve homeownership.

"It's a beautiful thing that we're actually helping people that have been displaced," said Marva Williams-Parker, administrative coordinator of The HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton. "It's heartbreaking to see their story, to see them still struggling. Some of them still haven't even found their footing yet."

The first Tornado Survivors Pathway to Homeownership Project home is being constructed at 4189 Saylor Street in Harrison Twp., where a crew started digging for a foundation this week.

Williams-Parker said 17 families are now going through The Homeownership Center's counseling process to purchase one of the homes. Fifteen of the families are Black households and nine of the families have children in the home. Most of the families currently spend 36-40% of their current income on rent, she said.

It could take a couple more months before the first family is mortgage-ready, Williams-Parker said.

The Pathway Project is a partnership between County Corp, Dayton, Harrison Township, The HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton, the Miami Valley Long-Term Recovery Operations Group, Montgomery County, Sinclair Community College, Trotwood, the Trotwood Community Improvement Corporation and others.

The groups worked with local jurisdictions and the Montgomery County Land Bank to identify vacant lots and homes for the project, said Laura Mercer executive director of the Miami Valley Long-Term Recovery Operations Group.

Mercer said the homes will be sold to qualified survivors at market-rate prices without disrupting each area's housing market.

"The Pathways Project is both an affordable housing and a neighborhood stabilization project," she said.

Construction on the Saylor Street house will be led by Sinclair Community College's Construction Technologies program faculty and will leverage the talents of Sinclair and Tech Prep students, as well as volunteer disaster reconstruction teams. The home, at 1,092-square-feet, will have three bedrooms and two baths.

A record-breaking 21 tornadoes struck Ohio on Memorial Day night 2019. The largest, an EF4, inflicted the worst damage on Harrison Twp. and Trotwood, where most of the Pathway Project homes are planned. Homes are also planned for Old North Dayton, also hit hard by the storm.

Following the storm, more than 1,000 households renting in Montgomery County received Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance.

The partners eye building about 22 homes. Sites for the first eight have been identified, though paperwork needs to be finalized for a few, Mercer said.

The project will help improve not only neighborhoods, but the financial health of families, said Montgomery County Commission President Judy Dodge.

"Becoming a homeowner is such a huge step for a family," she said. "This investment will pay off over time. Each payment made by the new homeowners will increase their equity and their financial security for the future."

While the partners have received some seed money, County Corp, acting as the project owner and construction manager, will take proceeds from sales and repeat the process, said Steve Naas, County Corp president.

"We'll do that as much as we can and hopefully serve the demand that's out there," he said.

Georgeann Godsey, Harrison Twp. Board of Trustees president, said the township had yet to recover fully from the Great Recession's housing crisis when the 2019 tornadoes hit. But the market is different today.

"There is a housing crunch, people need homes and we have vacant lots," she said. "We would love to continue this program."

Williams-Parker said some families who applied for the program went to sleep that May 2019 night and "woke up the next morning in a totally different situation."

"We're really helping these people recover what was lost," she said. "We're building homes for people that are going to appreciate it, and they're also going to beautify the neighborhoods."

How to get help, donate to Pathway Project

Tornado survivors who want to become homeowners and are interested in the Pathways Program can go to HomeownershipDayton.org to apply.

Individuals who still need help recovering from the tornadoes can call Catholic Social Services directly to be connected to a disaster case manager at 937-223-7217 ext. 1137.

Individuals, businesses, and organizations can contribute financially to The Dayton Foundation's Tornado Survivor Pathway to Homeownership fund (Fund #8561). Businesses and organizations that are interested in sponsoring a home or contributing materials or professional services should contact Laura Mercer at [email protected].

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