USDA Under Secretary Lisa Mensah and USDA Rural Development Pennsylvania State Director Tom Williams toured Leg-Up Farm, a non-profit therapy center in York County, Pennsylvania for children with special needs. Leg-Up Farm provides the community with individually tailored treatment plans, breadth of services, and a child-friendly environment in a convenient, centralized location. Funding for Leg Up Farm was provided by USDA Rural Development’s Community Facilities program in 2008.
Leg Up Farm’s pediatric therapy center is the only facility in the country to provide children impacted by special needs with physical, occupational, aquatic, and speech therapy, in addition to therapeutic horseback riding, counseling and nutrition services, and educational and recreational programming under one roof. And, with the Able-Services program, Leg Up Farm now offers a continuum of care to individuals up to 59 years of age. For more information, visit their website at www.legupfarm.org.
USDA’s Community Facilities Programs provide loans, grants and loan guarantees for essential community facilities in rural areas. Typical projects include child care centers, hospitals, medical clinics, assisted-living facilities, fire and rescue stations, police stations, community centers, public buildings, first responder vehicles and equipment, and many other community-based initiatives. Through this program, USDA ensures that such facilities are available to all rural residents. Funding is available to public bodies, non-profit organizations and federally recognized Indian tribes.
Last year, Rural Development funded over $1 billion in federal loan and grant money for 5,728 projects in rural Pennsylvania. These projects include rural business opportunities, single and multi-family housing programs, community facilities, and water and environmental programs. To learn more about Rural Development and how they could possibly affect change in your area, visit the website at www.rd.usda.gov/pa.
USDA is committed to helping local communities and non-profit organizations create projects such as Leg-Up Farm. This tour comes on the heels of President Obama’s September 30, 2016, Presidential Proclamation that October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
President Obama’s historic investments in rural America have made our rural communities stronger. Under his leadership, investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America’s economy, small towns and rural communities.