Investment Is Part of $86 Million Announced Nationwide for Some of the Nation’s Most Disadvantaged Areas
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2021 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the Department is investing $86 million to improve equitable access to jobs, business opportunities, education, housing, and health care for people who live and work in rural areas. The investments are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ensure that people living in rural communities have equitable access to the infrastructure and opportunities often taken for granted by people living in urban and suburban areas.
“Regardless of where they live, their race, ethnicity or gender, or the size of the town in which they live, all people must have access to decent housing, clean water and good job opportunities,” Vilsack said. “This is foundational to a healthy society and stable communities. Today’s announcements build on the historic investments made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act signed into law by President Biden to ensure equity during a time when people living in underserved places are suffering the most. These investments will go a long way toward helping America ‘Build Back Better’ toward a just and more equitable society.”
Background:
Vilsack highlighted 218 investments that USDA is making in six programs specifically designed to help people and businesses in rural areas. These programs include Tribal College Initiative Grants, Rural Community Development Initiative Grants, Housing Preservation Grants, Delta Health Care Grants, Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grants and Water and Waste Disposal Grants.
The funding will help more than 425,000 people in 46 states, Puerto Rico, and the Western Pacific. It reflects the many ways USDA Rural Development helps rural residents, businesses and communities address economic development, infrastructure, and social service needs. It will help low-income people make health and safety repairs to their homes. It will help build and improve water and wastewater infrastructure for people living in U.S. communities along the Mexico border. It will help rural business owners in the Mississippi Delta get access to capital and business development assistance. It also will help colleges that serve Tribal populations upgrade campus buildings and services.
In Virginia, Rural Development Acting State Director Terry Rosta is pleased to announce the following projects, totaling $603,190:
• In Lee County, the Appalachia Service will receive a Housing Preservation Grant of $107,656. This Rural Development Investment will allow the Lee County Housing Preservation Project to provide critical rehabilitation and repairs to approximately 10 owner-occupied homes of low and very-low-income households. This is a 24- month project that addresses housing instability by improving conditions in existing housing units in Lee County, Va. Appalachia Service Project has had a year-round presence in Lee County for over 25 years, and is known to county and municipality leadership, due to the long-term impact in the region.
• Renovation alliance in Roanoke will receive a Housing Preservation Grant of $156,595. This Rural Development investment will be used for renovations/repairs. This project will help provide housing preservation services to low and very low-income homeowners in five (5) rural counties of Southwest West Virginia. The counties that will benefit from this project will include Roanoke, Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, and Floyd. The applicant will work with volunteers and skilled contractors to complete critical and necessary home repair services to ensure warm, safe, dry, accessible, energy efficient, and healthy homes for homeowners.
• The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission located in Charlottesville will receive a Housing Preservation Grant of $107,656.80. This Rural Development investment will enable the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, who created the Thomas Jefferson Housing Improvement Corporation to assist in the development and provision of new residential housing, and in the improvement, repair, and rehabilitation of substandard residential housing and community development in the Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson. The program focuses on home repairs and rehabilitation for low-income households regardless of age and/or disability.
• Habitat for Humanity Virginia, Inc. will receive a Rural Community Development Initiative Grant of $180,000. This Rural Development investment will be used to provide technical assistance to 14 Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Virginia to build their skill sets, organizational culture, fundraising operations, and ultimately their capacity to identify, cultivate, and solicit major donors for gifts to their organizations. They will train the recipients on best practices, policies, and methods for identifying new prospects for major gifts. These skills will allow the recipients to build more new homes and rehab more vacant homes to sell to low-income families across the commonwealth.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, 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. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. USDA Rural Development is prioritizing projects that will support key priorities under the Biden-Harris Administration to help rural America build back better and stronger. Key priorities include combating the COVID-19 pandemic; addressing the impacts of climate change; and advancing equity in rural America. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/priority-points. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our 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.