The Pennsylvania staff of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development (RD) is celebrating National Homeownership Month today with Congressman Bill Shuster (R 9th), Cathy Glover, USDA RD’s Assistant Deputy Administrator for Housing Programs, and Bruce Hotchkiss, President of Threshold Housing Development, Inc. Today’s event recognizes USDA RD’s housing programs including the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program.
“USDA Rural Development’s mortgage programs offer affordable means for very-low to moderate income rural residents to purchase their own home,” said Trudy S. Moore, Acting Pennsylvania State Director. “Today’s event recognizes the benefits of our partnership with Threshold Housing Development, and the Mutual Self-Help Program which helps families save on costs by assisting with the construction of their home.”
The Mutual Self-Help program provides grants to help organizations carry out housing construction projects in rural areas. These organizations supervise groups of very-low- and low-income individuals and families as they construct their own homes. The group members provide most of the construction labor on each other’s homes and get technical assistance from the organization overseeing the project. In Grindstone, a Mutual Self-Help Grant of $299,999 for Threshold Housing has allowed for the construction of 23 homes in the community, the last 7 of which are now being completed.
USDA wants rural residents to know the Department has programs that can be their Keys to Homeownership. Each June, USDA celebrates National Homeownership Month with events across the nation that demonstrate USDA’s longstanding commitment to provide affordable housing opportunities for rural Americans.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. Programs improve water and electric infrastructure; start or expand businesses; help residents buy homes; fund community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care facilities; and bring high-speed Internet access to rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/pa.