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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 their 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: 111 Stories
Kylie Beckman Photo

Greater Future Envisioned Becomes Reality for New Rural South Dakota Homeowner

Kylie Beckman had been renting a townhouse in Madison, SD.  Oftentimes, she found herself tossing around the idea of becoming a homeowner. One defining day, she woke up and decided that it was time to take steps toward that greater future she’d envisioned by pursuing… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing
Tribal elders Mary and Abbie Van Pelt were able to have their roof re-paired with help from a USDA grant.

Repairs Improve the Safety of Tribal Elders’ Homes

Every time the south winds blew through the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Mary and Abbie Van Pelt had problems with their roof. Each time, Abbie would climb on the roof to try and fix the issue. When CTUIR received a Housing Preservation Grant… [Read More]
Home RepairHousing
Hernandez Homeownership

Pursuing Dreams through Partnerships

Yaramis (Yara) Ramos Hernandez a single mother from Cuba who recently achieved U.S. Citizenship last December. Responsible for both her 9 year-old daughter and elderly mother, Yara reached out to Pinnacle Bank, long-time lending partner of USDA Rural Development, to learn more… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousingRural Development

Dreams Are Being Built in Benton County

Gail Arnold’s dream of constructing a new home on her family’s property is coming true, with a home loan through the USDA’s Rural Development Rural Housing 502 loan program.  “This is my dream come true and I am so appreciative!” Arnold said at the ground breaking with… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing

Dreams Are Being Built in Lake County

Cora Wyatt‘s dream of constructing a new home on her own property is coming true with a home loan through a partnership between the USDA’s Rural Development Rural Housing 502 loan program and FAHE’s (Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises, Inc) Project Reinvest initiative… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing
The Weise family recently moved into their new home in Molalla, Oregon.

Homeownership Helps Rural Working Family Thrive

Housing was a constant concern for the Gonzalez-Weise family. They lived in a rental that was at the top end of their budget, but the roof leaked, and soon the house developed black mold. They were ready for a new home that would be safe for their three-year-old son. They… [Read More]
Housing
Photo: After years working in construction on other people’s homes, Matt was able to buy his first house for himself and his two girls with help from USDA.

After Building Others’ Homes, Father of Two Achieves Homeownership

Matt was fortunate to have a rental in Redmond’s competitive market in central Oregon, where the vacancy rate is around one percent. But the scarcity of available homes is driving up prices, and Matt was feeling the impact. He also worried that if his current rental fell through… [Read More]
Housing
Photo: A mother with a fixed income was able to complete critical repairs to her house with help from a local nonprofit and a USDA grant.

Vital Repairs Help Mother, Daughter Remain in their Home

Maria no longer felt safe in her own home, where she lives with her daughter, Margarita, in rural Malheur County in eastern Oregon. Wind blew in through the cracks around the windows, and water leaked through the roof. But with her low monthly income, Maria could not afford… [Read More]
Home RepairHousing
Photo: After growing up in foster care and homeless, Mendiola was finally able to purchase her first home with assistance from Rural Development.

A Journey from Generational Homelessness to Homeowner

“My journey to homeownership was not easy,” said Mendiola. It wasn’t just saving up the money, improving her credit, or finding the right lender. Mendiola had never lived in one place very long. She grew up in foster care and is a trafficking survivor. “I ended up on the streets… [Read More]
Housing
Sherry Morgan Event Group Photo

Crow Creek Sioux Tribe Reservation Member Becomes First Time Homeowner

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… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing

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