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Black Belt and Central Alabama Housing has applied for a Rural Housing Service /Homeowner Assistance Program Housing Preservation Grant.

Black Belt and Central Alabama Housing Executive Director Dave Fulford Jr. said the organization applied for a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development Housing Preservation Program.

The USDA will award a total of $15,340,826.78 in Housing Preservation Grant Program funding for the repair and rehabilitation of rural housing units. Applications are due by 5 p.m. on May 7.

Fulford said that the grant will be used to repair homes of low-income and very low-income people who live in both the Selma and Dallas County areas, as well as the Camden and Wilcox County areas.

“It’s going slow right now,” Fulford said. “We’ve got people calling. A lot of people are living in homes they can’t afford to keep them up. Some people need electrical work and some have roofing problems.”

Fulford admits that landing a six-figure grant could be difficult.

“They’ve cut back on the 502 program, it’s so hard to get that grant,” Fulford said.

Fulford, who has been part of the Black Belt Housing for two decades, said it’s about improving the area.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and we care about the community,” Fulford said.