11:02am

Mon May 14, 2012
The Commonwealth

Bank's Grants to Help Tornado Victims

Credit Greg Kocher/The Herald-Leader
Tim Smedley, 46, a West Liberty police officer, stood on the lot where his house had been before it was demolished in the March 2 tornado that tore through town. Smedley is buying a house.

Banks typically don't give money away, but one lender is doing just that to help Kentucky tornado victims. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati has a program in which homeowners and renters who were displaced or who suffered damage to their primary homes might be eligible for grants of as much as $20,000 toward the purchase, construction or repair of a home. Because these are grants, the money doesn't have to be repaid.