$1 Million in Housing Loans for Needy Proposed : Government: The Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the plan to offer no-interest assistance to victims of recent fires and to other homeless working families.

Up to $1 million in no-interest loans would be made available to low-income residents throughout Orange County during the next three years under a program expected to be approved today by the County Board of Supervisors.

The proposal is mainly intended to aid working poor families who, because of income restrictions or unique personal situations, fall just short of meeting the costs for rental housing.

Among the needy who could benefit from such a program are those whose homes were destroyed in the recent wildfires and who find themselves with few resources to start over, said Bob Pusavat, the county’s director of housing and redevelopment.

“This is an attempt to put people back on their feet,” Pusavat said. “In some cases, this might be enough to give them the dignity so they can go out and face the world.”

Eileen T. Walsh, the county’s finance and insurance director, said that funds for the program would be drawn from investment proceeds in the county’s housing bond fund. According to the plan, the money would be distributed to local nonprofit housing agencies enlisted to identify recipients and their level of need.

Terms of repayment would be worked out between the agencies and recipients but would not include interest or finance charges. Actual collection would be monitored by the county’s Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

“This serves a niche that has not been served in past,” said Walsh, adding that current programs administered by the Orange County Housing Authority deal primarily with homeless residents or those who have no means of support. “To qualify, people have to have some sort of income.”

Affordable housing is in particular demand in Orange County, where low-end rent for two-bedroom homes can be as much as $825 per month. “There has been some erosion in rent costs, but it still is high,” Walsh said.

For those making minimum wage, Walsh said, the loans could make the difference in meeting rental and security deposit costs required in most lease agreements.

Pusavat estimated that because of the sagging economy, “thousands” of residents could be eligible for the assistance. For those uninsured and working for low wages who lost homes in the fires, Pusavat said the program comes at a particularly good time.

“I think you’ll find that these people are good risks (for the loan program),” he said. “There are a lot of people out there in need of our help.”

Walsh said that enough money is available to distribute up to $200,000 in each of the county’s five supervisorial districts.