BLUFFTON – After a rainstorm, the shingles on Melinda Mitchell’s 29-year-old home lifted. It took some time for liquid to seep through the insulation, but eventually, everything started leaking. Then black mold began to spread.

Mitchell’s home in the historically Black Simmonsville area was deteriorating. She has not been able to work since a horrific accident driving a cement mixer left her with serious injuries. Mitchell turned to her local government for help. Eventually, the town of Bluffton paid for a new roof, replaced cabinets and part of her ceiling.

“You have to put that pride away so you can take care of yourself and your kids,” the 53-year-old mother of four said.

Mitchell took advantage of the town of Bluffton’s neighborhood assistance program, an effort to provide simple re

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