Frontier Housing partners with Bracken County

BROOKSVILLE — Frontier Housing, a resource for affordable housing solutions, recently announced a partnership with Bracken County.

According to CEO Tom Manning-Beavin, Frontier Housing is a non-profit organization based in Morehead. The organization was founded by four churches in March 1974.

Since its establishment, Frontier Housing has played a role in the construction of 848 new homes, 400 home repairs, 100 rental housing units and over 2,100 households.

Manning-Beavin explained that households have been served in several ways. These include construction solutions, affordable loans, credit counseling and rental housing.

He noted his reason for appearing before Bracken County magistrates recently.

“We want, today, to introduce ourselves to you and to introduce you to what we can do and what we are doing throughout eastern and northern Kentucky in hopes of being able to reach more residents,” Manning-Beavin said.

Until its partnership with Bracken County, Frontier Housing only served three counties in the Buffalo Trace Region. With the addition of Bracken County, the organization now serves four of the five counties.

The counties served include Mason, Fleming, Bracken and Robertson.

In total, Frontier Housing serves 22 counties.

According to Manning-Beavin, Frontier Housing offers free credit counseling, new home construction, financing to buy an existing home, owner-occupied rehab and rental housing options.

He noted that new home constructions could be built from the ground up.

Some examples of owner-occupied rehab services include weatherization in Breathitt, Lee, Owsley and Wolfe County and 2022 flood recovery assistance.

According to Manning-Beavin, the organization can work with families of several sizes and income levels. He noted the maximum income for USDA and Rural Development Direct Loan.

In a four-person household, the maximum income is $83,850. In an eight-person household, the maximum income is $110,700.

Manning-Beavin discussed some ways that Frontier Housing is different than similar organizations.

According to Manning-Beavin, families can get more than $40,000 in grants and deferred loans to finance new construction and acquisitions, rehab and resale.

He referred to the organization as a “one-stop shop.”

Right now, there are seven different types of grants that could be used in Bracken County.

To access those grants, a one-person household would need to make less than $44,000 a year. A two-person household would need to make less than $50,000 a year.

Manning-Beavin briefly discussed some projects currently in progress for the organization. He noted the cleanup and restoration of Hayswood Hospital in Maysville.

“As we look forward, I really do believe that Frontier’s purpose is to not only develop housing but to help communities think about holistic community development and help figure out solutions,” Manning-Beavin said.

He noted that a lot of places typically look for ways to improve the community.

According to Manning-Beavin, working together can make finding a solution to a housing shortage easier. He referenced meetings he attended with Mason County officials where they recommended Hayswood Hospital as a project.

Bracken County Judge-Executive Tina Teegarden shared brief remarks regarding the county’s partnership with Frontier Housing.

“One of the things that the magistrates and myself and mayors and council members can do is bring targeted properties in our cities and counties to light to Froniter, to take a look at,” Teegarden said.

She commented on a housing shortage in Bracken County.

“We have faced the housing issue for quite some time now,” Teegarden said. “I think this is gonna be a huge benefit to citizens, a huge benefit to counties and cities in your coverage territory.”

Teegarden said there is going to be more offered to Bracken County than what was presented to the magistrates.

“There’s a lot more, I believe, that Frontier is gonna be able to offer people in Bracken County than just what they presented,” Teegarden said. “There’s all these little instances where people just hit brick walls and they can’t make it any further in their goal.”

She thanked Frontier Housing for extending its coverage.

“We are so happy that you extended to Mason, Bracken and Robertson,” Teegarden said. “I believe this is gonna be a huge, huge help for this housing issue that we have all had discussion on in the past.”

Teegarden expressed gratitude for the organization providing resources to the county.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day but at least we have a resource. That says something in itself,” Teegarden said.