Patricia West, a great-grandmother and support worker for people living with mental challenges, says she “keeps working because of the economy.” She’s not alone. According to the Pew Research Center, roughly one in five Americans ages 65 and older (19%) were employed in 2023, a number that doubled over the last 35 years.
Last year, West faced a difficult dilemma: how to make needed repairs to the exterior of her College Hill home? “I wanted the repairs done, but I didn’t have the money,” she said. Fortunately, a co-worker introduced West to Working In Neighborhoods (WIN). She contacted WIN and spoke to Myra Boggs, the financial literacy coordinator. Boggs told West about a 3-year Forgivable Home Repair Loan program for low-to-moderate-income homeowners offered by WIN’s partner, Stock Yards Bank & Trust.
“In June, I started collecting the information that I needed for the loan application. I’m not tech-savvy, so Myra helped me,” said West. Soon, she learned that her home repair loan had been approved. By September, she had new metal porch railings and posts installed, her crumbling concrete steps were replaced, and concrete repairs were made to an existing wall. A grateful West exclaimed, “To live in a home you love and try to keep it up is difficult. Having a program like this one to help you is marvelous.”