Safety First Program

Safety First Program is sponsored by City of Aurora, IL (Community Development Block Grant). This program addresses safety issues within homes in Aurora, IL, offering assistance for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, as well as roof and porch repairs or replacements.

City of Aurora Open Data Portal The City of Aurora Community Development Division (CDD) manages local, state, and federal funding sources to aid organizations that offer programs and services to Aurora residents who are most in need. The goal of the programs and services managed by the CDD is to prevent and reduce homelessness, provide homebuyer opportunities, improve local infrastructure, and the quality of life of Aurora residents.

To visit the city website, click the button below. [](https://www. aurora.

il. us/Government-and-Engagement/Staff-Directory/Community-Services/Community-Development) ## How Community Development Grants are Funded Aurora’s Community Development Grants help strengthen neighborhoods and support residents in need.

These grants, funded through both federal and local sources, support a wide range of projects including: * Expanding and preserving affordable housing * Preventing homelessness * Improving public spaces and infrastructure * Providing essential community services * Supporting local economic growth Funding is awarded to local non-profits, certain public agencies, private businesses that create affordable housing, and directly to landlords for emergency rental assistance.

Homebuyers moving into Aurora can also receive help with purchasing single-family homes. Each year, the City’s Community Development Division (CDD) invites organizations to apply for funding. Applications are reviewed with input from past planning efforts and the Mayor’s Office to ensure the grants support projects that bring the greatest benefits to Aurora residents.

The list below defines grant programs federally, state, and locally funded. * The areas of service included in the Quality of Life Grant (QOL) are childcare/youth, downtown improvements, education, job training, homelessness, museums, seniors/disabled, veterans, and other service areas based on the expressed needs of Aurora residents. These are funded by a portion of the Casino gaming tax and SHAPE.

* The Safety, Health, and Public Enhancement Fund (SHAPE) is funded by the home-rule sales tax and is allocated towards public safety projects. A portion of SHAPE is used for the Quality of Life program. * The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) provides funding to organizations that provides services to low- to moderate-income individuals within the City of Aurora.

* The Community Development Block Grant - CoronaVirus (CDBG-CV) is a special one-time program funding allocated that provides funding to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the spread of COVID-19 * The Home Investment Partnerships Program Grant (HOME) provides funding to organizations for the development of affordable housing, as well as funding for homebuyer activities.

* The Home Investment Partnerships Program - American Rescue Plan grant program (HOME-ARP) is a special one time allocation and provides funding to organizations to prevent and reduce homelessness. Affordable housing grants provide assistance towards senior housing, public housing, emergency rental assistance, housing for individuals with disabilities, as well as housing for low to moderate income individuals.

## Types of Housing Assistance Programs The Community Development assistance programs are federally funded. As new federal regulations are released over time, the Community Development shifts priorities to better align with federal regulations to be compliant with those federal regulations. The following dashboard depicts three assistance programs and the funding they provided to households.

These interactive tiles are also able to show the sub category of types of improvements offered within those three assistance programs. * The Choose Aurora Down Payment Assistance Program helps homebuyers with a 3-year forgivable lien to purchase a house in Aurora city limits.

* The Safe At Home Program provides ADA accessibility repairs (up to $10,000) to seniors and individuals with disabilities in Aurora to help them stay in their homes. * The Safety First Program provides emergency repairs (up to $15,000) with a 50/50 forgiveness-repayment structure for qualified Aurora households.

* City of Aurora Consolidated Plan The consolidated planning process is a federal requirement for states and jurisdictions that receive entitlement resources through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). * One such resource is the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area which targets areas in Downtown Aurora with higher concentrations of lower-income households.

## Quarterly Home Owner Assistance Typically, the first quarter does not see a significant amount of homeowner assistance because in the cold weather, many rehabilitation projects are limited, also many people are busy with the holidays just passing. This also goes for homebuyers as well.

As the weather warms up, projects ramp up, with the largest amount of projects occurring in the fourth quarter to wrap up the year, as well as being the most popular time to purchase a home. The Community Development Division funding is allocated and distributed to programs and projects that provide assistance to those in Aurora with the highest needs.

Due to different socioeconomic statuses across the city, and across the different wards, there are higher needs for assistance in some wards rather than others, which impacts the amount of funding distributed amongst the city’s wards. Additionally, as these grant programs have been designed to serve people, some wards are larger than other wards, and the populations in each ward differs.

## Community Development Disclaimer: Data is collected and updated on an annual basis. Funding by ward varies based on population size and socio-economic needs. ## City of Aurora Open Data Disclaimer: The City of Aurora Data Analytics data is prepared and made available for general reference purposes only and should not be used, or relied upon for specific applications, without independent verification.

The City of Aurora neither represents, nor warrants data accuracy, or completeness, nor will the City of Aurora accept liability of any kind in conjunction with its use. City of Aurora Data Analytics information is in the public domain and may be copied without permission; citation of the source is appreciated. View Aurora's Open Data Standard Operating Procedure Manual here.

This website is hosted by ESRI on behalf of Aurora, IL. Website development and content is created by Aurora Data Analytics Division, along with GIS Division for map applications. Aimed at transparency, we take public accessibility as one of our main pillars guiding the Open Data Portal, and have incorporated, wherever possible, WCAG 2.

1, the current global accessibility standard.