Sherry Louise Morgan is an enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. She has worked hard for two years to obtain her dream of not only homeownership  but to complete this dream on her mom and dad’s leased land where she lived as a young girl. In recognizing her great accomplishment, a celebratory event was held on June 5, 2018 and attended by  USDA, several partners, family, and community members. The day was filled with emotion.

Sherry maintained a positive attitude, was committed and driven throughout the entire process. She hopes  by sharing her story, it will inspire others to jump in with both feet to obtain homeownership. Morgan said, “The feelings are overwhelming for me as a first time homeowner. Having this home built on the previous site of where my mom and dad lived makes it bittersweet.”

This project is USDA’s first 502 New Construction Direct Loan with the South Dakota Housing Development Authority’s Governor’s House Program on the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Reservation. USDA Rural Development leveraged the 502 loan with $10,000 grant from the Native American Homeownership Initiative (NAHI) distributed through Dacotah Bank and a $3,500 grant from Homes are Possible, Inc. (HAPI) to assist Morgan with the purchase of the Governor’s House. Both the NAHI and HAPI grants are forgivable mortgages.