He heard about a tax-funded sweepstakes on the radio. Now he’s getting a new roof

Darryl Williams, 61, spoke into a microphone that a county worker temporarily placed on his front porch in Brownsville.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Williams said on Thursday. “I thought it was a hoax.”

He was referring to the call he received a day earlier from the county’s social-services agency, informing him he had won. And now he was standing with Miami-Dade County’s mayor who was presenting him with a jumbo check for $50,000 for winning a contest the security guard heard about over the summer on an R&B radio station. The prize was a home renovation.

It was the result of a Miami-Dade “Christmas in July” promotion advertising the prize of one “total” home renovation.

The promotion’s aim was to bring attention to smaller weatherization grants from Florida available for lower-income residents to replace appliances, upgrade water heaters, replace insulation and other improvements designed to lower electricity bills.

Though only one person could win the home renovation funded by Miami-Dade, people eligible for that prize would also qualify for the state weatherization grants worth up to $10,000.

Pairing eligible recipients with that money can be a challenge, given the restrictions, administrators said. Radio promotions, including the one Williams heard on Hot 105 FM, sparked 73 phone calls about the giveaway, said Adrian Frazier, director of the county office overseeing the state funds.

But as county workers made contact with the potential recipients, they had to cross names off the list for various issues, such as living in a condo instead of a single-family home, or having outstanding code violations on their properties.

“Of the people who called, only nine qualified,” Frazier said.

From those nine eligible recipients, Williams had his name selected randomly for the grand prize. The others will receive weatherization grants.

Williams is hoping for a new roof to replace the one that’s starting to show signs of moisture intrusion in some spots in the house outside of Miami city limits. He’d also like to get the home’s windows replaced with storm-resistant glass, and a new air conditioner. After that, a coat of paint.

Williams said he earns about $36,000 a year working as a guard for a local shipping company. He took an extended lunch break from his job for the event with the mayor, but had to get back to work once the lectern and the camera crews were gone.

“I appreciate it,” Williams said during the check-presentation event with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “I will do everything I can to try and use the money wisely.”

The renovations are overseen by Miami-Dade staff, who will handle bidding out the renovation work for Williams. The effort is part of a broader collection of county programs aimed at helping lower-income people with home repairs. That includes $4 million from federal COVID-relief dollars for local weatherization grants.

While program criteria vary for those grants, the income limit typically is $53,000 for a family of four. People can apply online and in-person at a county Community Resource Center, or by emailing weatherprogramcahsd@miamidade.gov.

“We did this to keep people’s energy bills down,” Levine Cava said. “This is the gift that keeps on giving.”

This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 6:17 PM.