San Ramon’s now 10-month old Home Rehabilitation Grant Program is appearing to be a success story, helping assist low-income residents to apply for up to $5000 in grants for home repairs.

Since its creation, the program has helped 49 San Ramon residents pay for their roofing, plumbing and other problems in the household. Out of those beneficiaries, 18 were seniors and 10 were female heads of their families.

The city’s Home Rehabilitation Grant Program has been such a hit that town officials would like to see it grow. At first, $125,000 had been allocated to the redevelopment fund but has now agreed to settle on a budget of $375,000 a year to keep up with the overflow of grant applications.

San Ramon isn’t considered a pioneer in this kind of city relief service – Hayward, Pleasanton, Livermore and Pleasant Hill have made similar efforts.

It’s good to hear about a program implemented by local Tri-Valley cities that have a genuinely positive impact on the residents that need dire assistance. I don’t see why other cities with large populations of low-income residents in the Bay Area couldn’t benefit from a similar type of program.

- Joseph Natividad