DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac Housing Commission will be able to provide its residents with an additional comfort, thanks to a grant from the Pokagon Fund.

The Dowagiac Housing Commission was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Pokagon Fund, which is based in New Buffalo. The money will go toward the housing commission’s water softener project. The grant will cover 18 percent of the nearly completed project’s cost, with the rest coming out of the commission’s Housing and Urban Development fund.

“This is coming at exactly the right time,” said Dowagiac Housing Commission Executive Director Laura Wagley. “HUD has been encouraging us to partner with private organizations, because our HUD funds have been reduced in the past 20 years quite significantly. This really helps us a lot.”

The Dowagiac Housing Commission provides affordable housing to moderate and low-income families and individuals. The Chestnut Towers property that is undertaking the water softener project services individuals 55 and older, or people with disabilities.

Wagley said the water softener project will provide comfort to residents, as the water softener will take out some of the chemicals and buildup in the water, which can reduce skin irritants in the water and can improve hair and skin quality. The water softener will also allow residents to cut down on soap use and help protect the plumbing and fixtures in the building from limescale build up.

“Especially for [the residents’] skin, this will really help,” Wagley said. “As you get older, your skin thins out, you could say. With hard water, if it irritates and you are scratching, it could lead to some medical problems. [The water softener] will help with that.”

Pokagon Fund Director Janet Cocciarelli said the Pokagon Fund chose the Dowagiac Housing Commission as grant recipient because the commission shares a value of poverty reduction with the Pokagon Fund.

“We have a keen interest in ensuring that people who are within 30 to 80 percent of the median income are housed and fed and taken care of. … I think affordable housing is so hard to come by. We are so grateful that there is an option here for attainable, affordable housing here,” Cocciarelli said of the Dowagiac Housing Commission. “We are proud to partner with an organization that provides that. … We were drawn to the fact that this project is specifically something that will provide comfort to the people who live here.”

Wagley and Dowagiac Housing Commission Board Chair Minnie Warren said they were grateful to the Pokagon Fund for awarding the grant, and that they are hopeful the water softener project will improve the lives of their residents.

“We want to make it comfortable for our residents. … That’s what we are about,” Warren said. “We all want to be treated fairly, and we all wanted to be comfortable. That’s what we try to do here.”