NEW CASTLE Project gives mentally ill a place to call home

The work was done by inmates from the state corrections institute.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Kim Parker sprawls out on the futon in her new apartment overlooking Highland Avenue.
"I love it. It's beautiful. I almost cried when I first saw it," said Parker, 42.
Parker is moving into one of six newly created apartments at 301 Highland Avenue in a project recently completed by the New Castle Human Services Center and several other partners to find homes for homeless mentally ill people.
Will move soon
The residents are expected to move into the fully furnished one- and two-room apartments after Dec. 1.
The first floor of the three-story house is a drop-in center for the mentally ill.
"You know how important housing is in your life," said Dennis Nebel, HSC executive director. "It's no different for the people we serve. It will empower the people we serve. For the first time they will have ownership in something."
The residents will become cooperative owners in the building. Their rent, based on federal guidelines for low-income people, will pay for utilities and maintenance. Any extra money will go into an escrow account for residents to use for their own needs, said Roger Smith, HSC's community services director.
The home was completely renovated by workers from Operation Outward Reach, a program that teaches carpentry and construction to inmates at the state corrections institute in Mercer County. Their labor was free, and the HSC had to buy the materials, Nebel said.
Funding sources
The $122,500 restoration project was paid for by grants and loans from First National Bank of Pennsylvania and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, a consortium of banks that helps underwrite loans and projects in three states. Lawrence County commissioners also contributed money through the county's Affordable Housing Grant program.
The renovation of 301 Highland Avenue was just part of a project HSC started on that block. The organization bought and renovated five other homes on Grant Street.
Two homes are being used as a group home/boarding house for the mentally ill, and three others were converted into offices for HSC, Smith said.
New Castle officials agreed to close that section of Grant Street to traffic, and the HSC will build a park and promenade area in front. The city also is razing homes across the street to make room for a park and parking area.