Welcome to Community Services

Mission Statement
Our Mission is to provide affordable housing opportunities and social service referrals and to increase economic and community development services for the residents of Port St. Lucie through the use of local, state and federal grants and private partnerships.

Departmental Functions
The Community Services Department is responsible for administering the housing program with grant funding from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program and the Hurricane Housing Recovery Program (HHRP). The Department also administers community development and public service projects with the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. We research, write and administer grant funding for other federal, state and privately funded programs in coordination with the appropriate City Departments.  Community Services also works as a liaison between the federal or state agency and the city department, assuring that all federal and state regulations are followed during implementation of the grant-funded program. Finally, the Department provides information on social agency assistance available for low-income households.

Click here for our Community Services Program Summary

Home Purchase Assistance
Community Services administers state funded housing programs. This funding provides home purchase assistance for extremely-low, very-low, low and moderate-income families who want to purchase a home but need additional funds for down-payment, closing costs, prepaids and/or home repairs.  Applicants must qualify for a first mortgage loan with a member of the St. Lucie County Lending Consortium.  The City provides interest-free, deferred payment loans.  No payments are made, and the full amount of assistance is due if the client moves, sells the home, refinances or defaults on the first mortgage. Applicants who are selected for home purchase funding must attend a homebuyer education class which is provided by Consumer Credit Counseling Services and paid for through a partnership between Community Services and the Lending Consortium.  To date, the housing assistance program has helped over 258 families purchase homes. Many of these clients volunteer to provide community services in order to "give back to the community."

Home Purchase with Additional Leveraging is also available for those clients who have access to additional funding that will decrease the amount of the first mortgage loan.  Call Community Services for more information on this program.

Click here for more information on the Home Purchase Assistance Program

Repair/Rehabilitation/Reconstruction Assistance
This program provides funds for repair, rehabilitation or reconstruction of existing homes for extremely-low, very-low, low, and moderate-income homeowners and for water/sewer hook-ups when city service is available.  Community Services also works with the Code Enforcement Department to help fund repairs for lower-income residents who have received code-related citations.

Hazard Mitigation improvements (such as Hurricane shutters, water/sewer hookup and garage door strengthening) and Special Needs/Retrofit (wheel chair ramps, etc.) may be made as part of the Repair/Rehab Program if the household needs repair assistance and there is sufficient funding.  If the household does not require repair assistance or if it needs extra funding beyond that available under the Repair/Rehab Program, then the Hazard Mitigation or Special Needs/Retrofit Programs may be made available as separate strategies.

Assistance for repair/rehab is in the form of a deferred payment loan (DPL).  You will sign a Note and Mortgage for the maximum amount of assistance available according to your income category.  When all repairs are completed, you will sign a corrective Note for the actual amount spent.  The Mortgage will be recorded as a lien against your property until the Note is satisfied.  There is no interest, and no payments are made unless there is a default or the home is sold. 

Terms of repayment will differ by income level as follows:

For  Extremely-low, Very-low, Low and Moderate Income (up to 100% of median) the DPL will be forgiven at the rate of 10% per year up to the maximum percentages shown below. The remaining balance will be due on sale or forgiven in its entirety after 30 years, whichever comes first:

For moderate income over 100% up to 120% of AMI, the DPL will be due on sale or forgiven after 30 years, whichever comes first.
Since the inception of this program in 1993 and as of March, 2008 a total of 560 homeowners have been able to make repairs to their homes with SHIP or HHR funds. Many of the repair/rehab clients have volunteered to provide community services in order to "give back to the community."

Click here for more information on the Repair/Rehab/Reconstruction Assistance Program

Hazard Mitigation Assistance
The Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program supplements the Repair/Rehab Program for mitigation activities.  It covers activities such as water/sewer hook-ups, hurricane shutter protection and garage door strengthening.  Clients may qualify for these activities as part of the Repair/Rehab program if there is sufficient funding.  If there is insufficient funding, or if the household does not require or qualify for repair funding, the Hazard Mitigation strategy may assist those clients.

Special Needs/Retrofit Assistance
The Special Needs/Retrofit Assistance Program supplements the Repair/Rehab Program for special needs/retrofit items only.  It provides modifications to the home to provide disabled household members with increased access and/or use of their homes.  Clients may qualify for these activities as part of the Repair/Rehab program if there is sufficient funding.  If there is insufficient funding, or if the household does not require or qualify for repair funding, the Special Needs/Retrofit strategy may assist those clients.

Housing Re-Entry and Eviction Prevention
This program provides rental assistance, such as first and last month’s rent, if both are required, or the first two months.  The total amount of assistance is limited to $5,000.  For eviction/foreclosure prevention, the amount paid is limited to two months of rent or mortgage payments, with a maximum of $5,000.  This program is being administered by Mustard Seed Ministries.  The program is open to extremely low, very-low, and low income households; moderate income households may be helped on a case-by-case basis.  Clients must be able to continue making monthly payments on their own after the account is brought current. 

This program is administered for Community Services by Mustard Seed Ministries.  Call 465-6021 for assistance

Disaster Recovery Assistance
This program provides funds for eligible households that need assistance to repair or rebuild or to purchase new or existing homes to replace those that have been affected by a disaster.  The strategy must be directly related to assisting disaster victims and/or funding disaster recovery activities.  Funds may also be used for interim repairs, tree or debris removal, and other eligible expenses authorized by Florida Housing Finance Corporation. In the event of the total destruction of a home, disaster funds may be utilized to assist in purchasing a home, preparing a site for construction, constructing or reconstructing a home, and/or removing trees and debris.  Funding is provided for extremely-low, very-low, low and moderate-income clients through interest-free, deferred payment loans.  Terms of repayment/forgiveness follow the same guidelines as the Home Purchase or Repair/ Rehab/Reconstruction program, whichever is applicable to the type of assistance required.  

The Disaster Recovery Program is available on a case-by-case basis. Call Community Services for more information.  (772) 344-4084, (772) 871-5264 or if you are hearing impaired, call TDD (772) 873-6309.

Water/Sewer Assessment Payment Assistance
The Water/Sewer Assessment Payment Program is designed to help extremely-low, very-low, and low-income homeowners pay the remaining balance of the assessment for water and/or sewer on their primary residence.  Housing Assistance Program funding, in addition to CDBG funding, has been used to pay water/sewer assessments for low-income families.  This funding is awarded in the form of a grant, with no payback required.  As of May, 2007, a total of 1,728 homeowners have received this grant funding.

Click here for more information on the Water/Sewer Assessment Payment Program

CDBG Program
Community Services is also responsible for the daily administration of the Community Development Block Grant (C.D.B.G) program. The C.D.B.G. program provides approximately $675,000 in funding each year to the City. Prior to 2004, The City Council allocated most of the funding for the payment of water/sewer assessments for low-income homeowners.  In 2004, City Council members began allocating funding to projects such as the following:

2004-2005
Widening and improvement of Lennard Road.  This project was located within a low income census tract in the Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) of Port St. Lucie.  The area is slated to become Port St. Lucie’s “new downtown.”

2005-2006
Sidewalk improvements were completed along Tiffany Ave. This project was also located in the CRA.

Drainage improvements were made on Darwin Blvd.  This project was located in a low income census tract and was needed to mitigate flooding near a school and gymnasium that are used for a shelter and disaster distribution center.

2006-2007
Funding will be utilized for the Ravenswood Canal project, which includes reshaping of 6300 linear feet of waterway in a low income neighborhood, from the intersection of Ravenswood Lane and Lucero Drive to the West. The project will widen the canal in order to prevent flooding and erosion.

2007-2008
Funding for 2007-2008 will be used to demolish and rebuild the Ravenswood Community Center located in a low-income area of the City.  The Center sustained damage from the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes.

CDBG Disaster Funding
The City is also benefiting from CDBG Disaster Funding in the amount of $3 million to help with recovery after the twin hurricanes hit our area in 2004.  A portion of the funds has already been utilized for a Special Needs Shelter/Facility Retrofit at the Port St. Lucie Community Center.  Additional funding will be utilized for Drainage repairs on Darwin Blvd., located in a low-income neighborhood.  A copy of our CDBG Action Plan, which lists current activities, is available for your review in the Community Services office.

Fair Housing
Community Services promotes citizens' rights to fair housing.  Our fair housing booklet "Fair Housing Opens Doors" is available in the Community Services Department, Room 221, or on this web site.  Fair Housing Continuum, Inc., a Fair Housing enforcement agency, can be contacted at 1-888-264-5619 or by e-mail at fairhousing32922@aol.com

Click here for more information on Fair Housing

Referral Services/Information
Community Services staff provides referrals for additional community services available throughout St. Lucie County.  Click on the icon below for a list of some of the community services available locally.

Click here for Links and Referral Services