Bozeman, Mont., June 21, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development in Montana State Director Kathleen Williams honored a 20-year relationship with the National Affordable Housing Network (NAHN) today by attending a groundbreaking for a new affordable housing project in Butte.
This new project in marks a nearly 20-year relationship between USDA Rural Development and NAHN that has led to construction of more than 100 homes in the Butte area going back to 2004.
“Today is a celebration of home, history, and hard work, and we are proud to help make affordable homeownership a reality here in Butte for so many families,” said Williams. “At a time when more and more people find themselves houseless, USDA is proud to help the opposite happen here because of what this project represents - a safe place to call home.”
Since 2020, USDA has invested more than $1.5 million with NAHN through the Mutual Self-Help Technical Assistance Grant program to finance construction of the Roxanne Iron Way Condominium project in Butte's uptown area.
Mutual Self-Help Technical Assistance Grants provide funds to qualified organizations to conduct local self-help housing projects by training and helping low-income families in rural areas build their own homes. Funding pays for technical and supervisory assistance to participating families, which includes expertise provided by on-site project managers.
A typical self-help build project involves multiple families that build their homes at the same time on the condition that no one family can move in until all homes are complete. This fosters a sense of community as families come together to help build each other’s homes, ensuring work is completed and they can move in.
USDA also works with the families to finance their homes through the 502 Direct Home Loan and Single-Family Home Loan Guarantee programs.
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