CLEVELAND — The City of Cleveland has allocated $5 million in American Rescue Plan funding for the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity, their largest grant in history.

John Litten, CEO of Cleveland Habitat for Humanity, said the demand for the organization’s resources has been high in Cleveland.

“It’s such a huge need in Cleveland, the ability to do more of it is important over time, especially with the opportunity the American Rescue Plan gives us,” Litten said. 

The grant will allow them to build 50 new homes in parts of the city that have been historically red-lined and now have low homeownership rates.

It’s part of a larger initiative launched by Habitat to build or repair 400 homes in Greater Cleveland. 

“We’re sort of a mortgage company as well,” Litten said. “People aren’t just given a home. It’s a zero interest mortgage company as well. So, for 15 or more years, they may be paying down that mortgage, building home equity in a household, in a family, in a generation, that may have been in poverty previously.”

Litten said the folks they serve are coming from homes that aren’t safe, cost too significant a portion of their pay or have landlords who don’t take care of the property.

In Habitat’s program, approved homeowners qualify for housing payments no more than 30% of their monthly income.

“We’re actually really successful at that as well. We aren’t just good at giving mortgages, people are able to sustain them over time,” Litten said. “Over 95% of our mortgages at this very time, are current or in repayment.”

Litten said much of the work they do is already in Cleveland’s southeast neighborhoods, in line with Mayor Justin Bibb’s plan to revitalize that part of the city, but an additional $5 million would allow them to expand into neighborhoods like Collinwood or Detroit-Shoreway.

“I mean, it’s just going to transform our ability to serve as many families as possible,” Litten said.