Aroostook Community Matters - New Home to Deserving Limestone Couple
By Robert Grimm
Published: Sep. 11, 2020 at 10:12 AM EDT
LIMESTONE, Maine (WAGM) -
Housing Assistance Programs/ Resources
ACAP Housing & Energy Services
MaineHousing Website
Pre-1976 Mobile Home Replacement Initiative
MaineStream Finance [PenquisCAP subsidiary]
Taggett: "And to see this here, is like answer to prayer. It's like you can't believe it in the beginning that it's possible, and then after that -- it's like, it's really here."
Robert: Betty and Paul Taggett of Limestone, recently celebrated the housewarming of their brand new home. Seeking out and receiving support and assistance from ACAP, MaineHousing, and Penquis Community Action Program, Betty and Paul were participants of a Mobile Home Replacement project. The delivery of their brand new home back in July, is still sinking in.
Taggett: "It's a big blessing. I mean it's amazing, it's overwhelming, it's hard to even believe. So it's going to take a while to process. The old house every time we looked around, we saw things we had to do. Here, we'll see how it's already done. And we're okay. We don't have to worry about it. That'll be good."
Robert: Betty mentions there were highs and lows along her housing journey. But she had the close, one-on-one support of ACAP Housing Specialist, Shannon Hill, to keep the hope alive, encourage Betty on, and guide her every step of the way.
Taggett: "Some might say, well they don't know them and just don't bother. But Shannon never did that -- all the way through. And that's why I said it was more like a friend. She was more excited at points than I was. I was scared and she wasn't. She'd say, 'It's gonna happen.' So as it did -- you know it did happened."
Hill: "So of course today to see it actually happen -- I'm not sure who was more excited -- Betty or myself. So we did have funding, we weren't able to do the whole project. So the way we were able to do it was offer so much money to go towards it, but then Betty would've had to finance the rest of it. She was able to get financing for the gap funding for the additional. So she came up with more than half of the cost of the project on her own."
Robert: Various support from partnered organizations was a common theme for Betty's housing journey. Her and Paul finally get to enjoy their new home, and it's a feeling Betty hopes others throughout the County will get to experience.
Taggett: "But it's just wonderful all the way around. Still hard to -- it's still like pinch yourself to see if it's real. If you're really not dreaming. And they've been a wonderful agency to work with. But I'm glad they are, because there's a lot of people besides us that could utilize this, and it would be a dream come true for them too."
Robert Grimm, News Source 8.
[Interviews:
--Betty Taggett, Homeowner | ACAP and MaineHousing Services Recipient;
--Shannon Hill, Housing Specialist | ACAP]
Aired: September 11, 2020
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