News

For Peace Haven Administrator Fran Branan, the grants her senior independent living community in Walnut, Iowa, has received from the Pottawattamie County Housing Trust Fund are not just a game changer for the complex; they are a lifesaver.

“I don’t think we would still be in business,” said Branan. “It’s kept us in business. We wouldn’t have been able to do anything we’ve done without the funding.”

In recent years, funding from the Pottawattamie County Housing Trust Fund helped Peace Haven replace a failing boiler with a new heating/cooler system.

This year funding will be used to replace exterior doors with push button-activated doors to boost accessibility for residents and cameras will be added for extra security.

Peace Haven is one of eight organizations receiving grant funding from the trust fund’s 2026 application cycle.

The trust fund awarded grants totaling $479,403 for the following organizations and projects:

– Connections Area Agency on Aging and Habitat for Humanity of Council Bluffs
Owner-occupied housing rehabs, repairs, and accessibility improvements: $100,000

– Habitat for Humanity of Council Bluffs
Down payment assistance: $80,000

– Heartland Family Service, New Visions Homeless Services, Peace Haven Association, and Vodec
Rehab of rental housing units, emergency shelters, or transitional units: $224,403

– Connections Area Agency on Aging, InterFaith Response, and Iowa Legal Aid
Rental assistance, including deposit, rent, and eviction aversion services: $75,000

Each year the Pottawattamie County Housing Trust Fund (website: pottcohtf.org) allocates funding to organizations or individuals that serve the housing needs of low to moderate-income residents within Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

MAPA is the grant administrator for the Pottawattamie County Housing Trust Fund and provides staff services including annual housing assistance plans and grant applications, project and fiscal management and compliance with Iowa Finance Authority requirements.