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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: 122 Stories
Artist John Welch standing in front of his colorful art in an exhibit.

Artist Finds a Way to Continue Painting

A few years ago, artist John Welch was renting a small house in Helper, Utah. He describes it about the size of a cottage, although it met his needs. The best part was he had enough space in the basement to create art. John incorporates colors and patterns in his art to… [Read More]
Utah
HomeownershipHousing
Vikki Shoulders with family outside her new home

I was paying for something I knew I would never own

Vikki Shoulders has lived on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation her entire life. At 46, she always dreamed of owning her own home, but on the reservation, there weren’t many options. While renting offered many benefits, she knew she was paying for something she would never own… [Read More]
South Dakota
HomeownershipHousingTribal
door to a home, sidewalk, patio, pillar

Kate’s Story: Homeownership and Love

While the clear blue skies and tidy farm fields on the prairie may seem limitless in Wright County, Iowa, access to housing there can be challenging to see. To find a suitable place to live, Kate Foote confronted a limited supply of affordable homes and ever-changing market… [Read More]
Iowa
HomeownershipHousing
Tai Lepule and his family stand proudly in their new home’s kitchen with USDA Rural Development Area Director Amy Milburn and RurAL CAP Construction Manager Chris Blanchard. In November 2022, USDA Rural Development invested $734,714 with Rural CAP to help 18 families build energy efficient homes in Soldotna, Alaska

‘Credit’ Goes to Soldotna Family for Helping Build Their Own Home

In November, USDA Rural Development and Rural Community Action Program helped Andrew “Tai” Lepule and his family close on the home of their dreams.  Purchasing a house can be challenging for any family in Alaska, considering high market prices, low availability, and… [Read More]
Alaska
GrantsHomeownershipHousingRural Development
Photo of people lifting up a wall frame they have built out of wood while building a house.

USDA RD helps family become homeowners in Napa Valley

Erik Martinez, Sr. and his wife Ana immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico about 30 years ago with the dream of making a better life for themselves. They settled in Napa Valley in the world-famous wine region where Ana found work in hospitality and tourism and Erik began working at… [Read More]
California
GrantsHomeownershipHousing
Exterior photo of Shalyn Janis home

Creating A Haven for Native American Homeowners

The journey to homeownership is often filled with anxiety, unknowns, frustrations and eventually excitement as you move into your home. For Shalyn Janis, this journey began in 2018. She had been trying to buy a home for a while when she heard about USDA’s Native Relending,… [Read More]
South Dakota
HomeownershipHousingRural DevelopmentTribal
Several people raise a house wall during a group construction project

Camp Fire survivor gets new home through USDA RD Self-Help Program

Elizabeth Brewster grew up in Paradise, California. After a time away for her career, she knew she had to come back to the place she called home – a home that had been in her family since the 1960s. In 2018, tragedy hit. The Camp Fire, the deadliest fire in the history of… [Read More]
California
DisasterGrantsHomeownershipHousing
Turner SFH

Homeowner Is Proudly Setting an Example for Her Children with the Help of USDA

Homeownership is still the “American Dream” for many people living in America and for Ms. Jacqueline Turner, this dream was no different.  USDA Rural Development (RD) helped Turner realize that it’s not just a dream it’s now a reality. Recently Turner applied for a home… [Read More]
South Carolina
HomeownershipHousing
Male and female sanding a floor.

Homeownership Becomes Reality Through Four Bands Community Fund, Rural Development

When Kim Lawrence of Eagle Butte set out to purchase a home, she knew there was work to be done.“I had very bad credit and student loans that had gone unpaid,” said Lawrence. “Before I could buy a house, I needed to clean up my credit, and Four Bands helped guide me along the… [Read More]
South Dakota
HomeownershipHousingRural DevelopmentTribal
A woman looks up at the damage in her ceiling. Boards are being used to prop up ceiling sections.

There’s No Place Like Home

Sandra was born and raised in the rural town of Greenwood, Mississippi, but wanted more excitement in her life. She moved to Los Angeles in her early 20’s and loved it, but she got terribly homesick for her family every time she called home. In 1999, she followed her heart home… [Read More]
Mississippi
Home RepairHousingRural Development

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