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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in the Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 141 Stories
Smiling woman standing in the open doorway of her home as seen from the porch of the home.

Flores family sets down roots in the City Beautiful

It was raining, it was pouring, but the only one snoring was Alma Flores’ son in his very own bedroom. On a rainy, spring Wednesday in Wisconsin, Alma hosted USDA Rural Development (RD) and Habitat for Humanity (HFH) to share her favorite things about her family’s new home.… [Read More]
Wisconsin
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Yellow one-story house with a smiling woman on the porch.

Customer Recommends USDA for Home Repairs!

"I want to tell you what a wonderful experience I had working with USDA Rural Development..." began the customer appreciation letter written by senior citizen Connie Henson, of Spencer, West Virginia. Ms. Henson wrote, "I needed a new roof for my house and at my age wasn’t sure… [Read More]
West Virginia
Home RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Family standing on the lawn in front of a white two-story house. Two family members are in wheelchairs.

Dennis Family Finds a Home Without Boundaries

The Dennis family, Marc “Bill” and Nicole, broke ground on their new home in Carneys Point earlier this year. Mrs. Dennis is in a wheelchair and their home will be constructed with handicap accessible features throughout. The Dennis family is beyond excited because it has been… [Read More]
New Jersey
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Photo of Wyoming home owner

Mixing Old Memories With New Memories

Life hasn’t always been easy for Hayley. She is a single mother and going back to school to earn a bachelors degree. After making the time for school, she felt ready to plant some roots for her and her daughter. Upon learning she was approved for a USDA Rural Development home… [Read More]
Wyoming
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
DePaz Family Enjoying Their New Home in Columbus, Nebraska

DePaz Family Celebrates One Year Anniversary of Becoming Nebraska Homeowners

Jose and Jessica De Paz are celebrating. Last month marked the one-year anniversary of being homeowners, an accomplishment they weren’t sure they’d be able to realize, but they did their research and attended a homeownership education course in May 2020.  They were looking… [Read More]
Nebraska
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Family front porch of new home

From Wheels to Walls - Attaining the Dream of Homeownership

For many, owning your own home is the America Dream.  But the road to homeownership can be difficult to maneuver and include roadblocks and detours. Alexandria S., a widowed mother of four, is all too familiar with those bumps in the road and worked in partnership with the… [Read More]
Colorado
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022Housing
Jaimee Souksan and her two kids were able to realize the American dream of home ownership with the help of a USDA Rural Development loan in Nebraska.

Souksan Family Realizes the American Dream in Nebraska

Homeownership, for many, it’s the ultimate American dream. However, it can be difficult to achieve in a challenging economy, especially for those of limited means, but it is not impossible. In 2020, Jaimee Souksan made the dream come true for her family of three when she… [Read More]
Nebraska
HomeownershipHousing
Solar panels being installed

Home repair loan helps family drastically cut electric bills

Keeping the electric on was crippling the Maggard family. Electric bills ranging from $300-$600 per month ate up the majority of the family’s fixed income. HOMES Inc., one of Rural Development’s strong housing partners in Eastern Kentucky, led a project combining funding… [Read More]
Kentucky
EnergyHome RepairHomeownershipHousingRural DevelopmentSolar Energy
enny Taylor shows off her refurbuished home after receing a through a USDA Hosuing and Preservation Grant helped repair her failing septic system that was damaging her home.

USDA Helps Single Mom Save Her Home

It is a good day when we are able to reach out and directly effect the lives of people in our state.Penny Taylor was recently divorced. Her home’s aging septic service was failing and damaging her home and yard.Due to her limited income she was unable to afford to have the… [Read More]
North Carolina
Home RepairHomeownership
Candice Hill photo

Homeownership Provides South Dakota Family with Security and Stability

Candice Hill is a single mother of three children. She was interested in pursuing owning her own home. Through the guidance and assistance received from T-Yamni, a one-stop homeownership program offered by Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate to tribal members, she was on the path to… [Read More]
South Dakota
Homeownership

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