PENITAS, TX, June 26, 2024 – As part of National Homeownership Month, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Acting Deputy Undersecretary Lillian Salerno, Single Family Housing Director, Allen Lambright and Area Director, Roel Gomez, today partnered with Buckner International, Proyecto Azteca and LIFT Community Action Agency to celebrate National Homeownership Month in Rio Grande Valley Texas.
Buckner’s Healthy Housing program helps families have access to a safe and healthy home, leading to lasting change in the family’s social and emotional well-being. The program, which includes home builds, healthy homes, bathroom builds and home repair workshops, seeks to help families move to a healthier lifestyle together but also reinforces self-esteem and improves health and hygiene basics.
“We value our community partnerships, Salerno said. “The great work at Buckner together with our Mutual Self-help Housing Grant Program, make the dream of homeownership a reality in the valley. Through this program, the Biden-Harris Administration has helped over 2,200 families and individuals build their own homes across rural America.”
Today, Texas Rural Development and Rural Housing Services participated in group self-help work with Buckner International in Penitas, Texas, followed by a tour of housing certificates to congratulate families in Edinburg, Donna, and Palmview, Texas.
USDA Homeownership Programs
USDA Rural Development homeownership programs have historically given people in rural Texas and on Tribal lands the opportunity to buy, build or repair homes in rural communities.
For 75 years, USDA has made financing affordable for families who would otherwise be unable to secure a home loan. By providing low interest rates, loan guarantees, reduced down payments and construction grants, Rural Development’s Single
Family Housing Programs have become a vital resource for millions of rural Americans.
These programs include:
• The Single Family Housing Direct Home Loan Program has helped qualified lower-income applicants buy homes with no money down so they can build wealth and equity.
• The Single Family Home Repair Loan and Grant Program has helped families and individuals repair and modernize homes, and make them safer, healthier places to live.
• The Mutual Self-Help Housing Grant Program has worked with nearly 250 organizations to help families and individuals lower the cost to purchasing a home by participating in its construction.
• The Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program enables USDA to partner with private lending institutions, backing their loans to help families and individuals buy homes in rural areas.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America. To learn more, visit www.rd.usda.gov/tx. To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery Subscriber Page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit GovDelivery subscriber page.
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