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Outline of Need:
Young families, single parents, good hard working people, all in need of decent, safe housing. Shelby County, Missouri, a rural area, offered little hope for new homes for these families. Unable to pursue conventional lending, yet credit-worthy, and willing to work hard for their homes, these families turned to the Rural Development Self-Help Housing program.
How Rural Development Helped:
The Rural Development Self-Help Housing Program provides low and very-low income people in rural areas the opportunity to build their own home. The North East Community Action Corporation (NECAC), partnering with Rural Development, assisted these families in building their own homes. NECAC provides the technical assistance and Rural Development provides the loan funds for the house and lot. The families and individuals work together as a team with family members and friends on weekends and evenings after work to build each other's homes. The work was done under the guidance of NECAC's construction supervisor, funded by a Technical Assistance Grant from Rural Development. The families performed approximately 65 percent of all the construction work. By working together for about eight months they complete the homes at the same time. The hard work becomes their down payment commonly called "sweat equity."
The Results:
The families save money by pooling resources and labor. And, families who could not have otherwise afforded their own home had a chance to work together with their peers and achive the American dream of home ownership. An event recognizing National Homeownership month was held in Shelbina on Tuesday, June 4, 2002. Get more information and meet these families.
(June 2002)
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