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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: 145 Stories
Bob and Mary Ann Volk outside their remodeled home in Herreid, SD.

Herreid Homes Have New Hope After Rehab

Bob and Mary Ann have lived in the same home for over 55 years. The couple raised their six children here and they all attended the same school in Herreid. But over the years the home has needed updates and eventually those updates were too difficult for Bob and Mary Ann to take… [Read More]
South Dakota
Home RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023Housing
A kitchen with counters, cupboards and a stove

A Family, A Home, And An Education: How Laura Got it Done

Right on the banks of the Mississippi River, Camanche, Iowa, boasts of a long history of small town life. With the big river so close, scenic views are everywhere. With larger cities nearby, education and employment opportunities are within reach. “Camanche is a grassroots… [Read More]
Iowa
EducationHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023Rural Development
Linda Lawson on the front porch of her Wytheville, Va., home.

Putting Home Repairs in the Picture for One Wytheville Resident

You won’t find too many people who love their new roof as much as Linda Lawson. The shiny blue metal sheets not only appeal to her artistic sensibilities but also give her a greater sense of security as a barrier from the storms of life. The freelance photographer was already… [Read More]
Virginia
GrantsHome RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023
A woman and her son stand outside their newly purchased home, holding a giant key.

A Home for Anya

Anya Lindsey is a single mother with two young children, one of whom is autistic. Anya was living with her parents and sharing just one bedroom with her sons. As she experienced a change in circumstances which came with a little extra income, she hoped to use it to secure a home… [Read More]
Nevada
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023Housing
Cora Suzette Lee on the front porch of her new home.

Rebuilding a Family and Community Legacy in Northampton County

While Virginia’s Eastern Shore is known for its majestic sunsets, beaches and rural country living, a short drive off the main roads of Northampton County reveals a persistent poverty area dotted with aging homes that residents have little or no means to repair. Many properties… [Read More]
Virginia
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023Housing
Richard Smith stands on the porch of his new home in Elkins, West Virginia.

West Virginia Man Achieves Dream of Homeownership with Assistance From USDA

It was 2019, Richard Smith was unemployed and had just lost everything he owned in an apartment fire. To say Smith was down on his luck was an understatement but his two children provided him with the motivation to pick himself up and turn his luck around.  “It’s just me… [Read More]
West Virginia
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023Housing
Group photo of new borrowers and Piedmont Habitat for Humanity team

Packaging Purchases AND Production to Put More Virginia Families into New Homes

Who doesn’t love breaking open a fortune cookie to find the hidden message inside? The vague prophesies are more fun than fact but intriguing, nonetheless. In Farmville, Va., Piedmont Habitat for Humanity is turning that concept on its head by putting two sturdily constructed… [Read More]
Virginia
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2023Housing
Michael Mitchell outside his home in Aberdeen.

Working together for homeownership

The saying ‘it takes a village’ can carry many meanings. For Aberdeen resident Michael Mitchell, it meant multiple organizations coming together to help homeowners like him find and purchase an affordable home. Through a partnership between USDA Rural Development (RD), Homes… [Read More]
South Dakota
GrantsHome RepairHomeownershipHousing
Barbara and her pet cat.

A Welcoming Home

Barbara Svatos is a proud member of the Wisner community. She helps run the scale for truck drivers hauling cattle in and out of a local feedlot. In this way, Barbara is part of the global food supply chain from her home in northeast Nebraska. USDA Rural Development’s … [Read More]
Nebraska
Home RepairHomeownershipHousing
Smiling woman, Latanya Moultry, holding a wreath after closing on her new home.

Despite Hardships, Widowed Mother of 3 Attains Homeownership

Latanya Moultry was devastated when her husband, Quinten, passed away suddenly at home after being diagnosed with COVID earlier that day in March 2021. She had been a loving wife and stay-at-home mom caring for her son with autism. Overnight, she became the head of the household… [Read More]
Florida and Virgin Islands
HomeownershipHousing

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