WILTON – A local social service agency has been awarded a $30,000 grant, which will help make it easier for area seniors to continue living at home.

Western Maine Community Action, based in Wilton, was one of five agencies statewide to receive a piece of $130,000 in funding for rural housing repair from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Sector.

The agency will use the funding to pilot a new program called Keeping Seniors Home, a statewide community action program to help make seniors’ homes safe, accessible and affordable so they can remain at home, said Trish Ohler, the coordinator for the new program.

The grant will go toward rehabilitating 10 owner-occupied, single family homes in Franklin County with a focus on energy conservation and addressing immediate health and safety hazards.

Each family can receive up to $2,700 to pay for projects around the home, such as installing grab bars in the bathroom, increasing door widths for wheelchairs and building handicapped-accessible ramps, said Ohler.

The agency also will help seniors find area contractors to complete the renovations.

In order to qualify for funding, seniors must have an income under 50 percent of the median, said Ohler.

The money is important for Franklin County, she said, because “We have a big low-income elderly population.”

Statistics show that in Maine, 70 percent of elders want to remain at home, Ohler said, adding the grant will help make that a reality. “This grant really will help us to complement our other elder services.”

In the future, the agency hopes to expand this new program. On Oct. 16 it will host a conference about the program at the University of Maine at Farmington.

“The organizations receiving these grants continuously work to improve the lives of individuals and families in surrounding communities throughout Maine,” according to Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who announced the grant awards. “We support their on-going effort to assist low-income households in our state.”

For more information about Keeping Seniors Home, people can call Trish Ohler at 645-3764, extension 5539.