These success stories provide real-life examples of how rural housing organizations leverage federal, state, local, and private resources to plan, develop, finance, and construct affordable housing for low-income families in rural America. Most appeared in one of NRHC’s many publications.
CDCB’s Micasita Program
- Lower Rio Grand Valley,
- Texas
- Come Dream Come Build
- In the Rio Grande Valley, a couple trapped in debt and unsafe housing used the MiCASiTA self-help program to design and build a modest two-bedroom home they could finally afford....
Mutual Self Help Housing
- North Shore,
- California
- Coachella Valley Housing Coalition
- In North Shore, California, a farmworker mother built her own home through the self-help program, balancing construction work with raising two children and full-time employment....
Stability Through Homeownership
- Tazewell,
- Virginia
- Fahe
- In Virginia, a family who never thought they could qualify for a mortgage became first-time homeowners through USDA 502 financing after a year of credit counseling and support....
Habitat for Humanity of Douglas County
- Douglas County,
- Minnesota
- Habitat for Humanity International
- In rural Minnesota, dozens of families have achieved homeownership through Habitat’s partnership with USDA 502 loans, allowing buyers earning ~$27k to afford safe housing....
Habitat for Humanity PennyRile Region
- PennyRile,
- Kentucky
- Habitat for Humanity International
- In Mortons Gap, Kentucky, a disabled Army veteran and his family gained an affordable, solar-powered home through a Habitat partnership using USDA Rural Housing financing....
The Best Christmas Ever
- Danville,
- Kentucky
- Housing Development Alliance, Inc.
- In eastern Kentucky, a family with three children — one with special needs — built an energy-efficient home through USDA 502 financing and sweat-equity, cutting utility costs in half....
Finally a Home for Ms. McGuire
- Durant,
- Oklahoma
- Little Dixie Community Action Agency
- In Durant, Oklahoma, a single woman fulfilled her lifelong dream of homeownership by contributing sweat-equity hours alongside USDA and Little Dixie’s self-help construction team...
Lincoln County Housing and Development Authority
- Lincoln County,
- Minnesota
- Minnesota Housing Partnership
- A rural Minnesota USDA 515 rental property on the brink of failure was rescued when LCHRA took over management, secured $500,000 for repairs, restored full occupancy, and—with MHP’s assistance—completed an expedited ownership transfer in 2020....
A New Home for the Abbotts
- Milford,
- Delaware
- Milford Housing Development Corporation
- A young Delaware father worked more than 1,300 sweat-equity hours while holding a full-time job, eventually moving with his daughter into an Energy-Star certified self-help home built through MHDC’s program....
Finally Home: The Charles Family
- Dagsboro,
- Delaware
- NeighborGood Partners
- A public-housing resident in Delaware improved his credit, saved nearly $9,000, and—with NCALL’s coaching—secured a USDA 502 loan, allowing his family to move into a newly built home in Dagsboro....
The Strand Family
- Eveleth,
- Minnesota
- Habitat for Humanity International
- A single mother in Minnesota partnered with Habitat and USDA Rural Housing to build a home she could not otherwise afford, closing on a $97,320 loan and gaining a safe yard and stability for her son....
Gibson Gardens
- Chelan,
- Washington
- Office of Rural & Farmworker Housing
- ORFH and USDA partnered to rehabilitate the aging Gibson Gardens apartments in Chelan, Washington, preserving affordable 515 rental housing in a tourist-driven market where local workers are being priced out....