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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: 140 Stories
A smiling family, father, mother, two young daughters, standing on the porch of their own home.

Couple Turns Wishes of Homeownership into Reality with USDA and Four Directions

“When we walked in, I felt like an imposter - Like I just stole somebody’s house,” said Michael Carlos, a Houlton, Maine native and fiancé of Sakoya Blackwell, a member of the Maliseet Indian Tribe in Houlton. “I couldn’t believe it was really ours.” For years, their family… [Read More]
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022Tribal
The Thompson Family, father, mother, four children, posing in front of a maple tree planted during a recent USDA Homeownership Month Event in their new backyard along the Raquette River.

USDA Assists The Thompson Family of The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe

Nestled along the beautiful Raquette River which flows along the St. Regis Mohawk Territory and Canada, you’ll find the home of the Thompson family. Inside and out of those newly constructed walls, you will see and hear the laughter and bustling activity of a young and growing… [Read More]
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022Tribal
USDA offers loans and grants to low and very low income individuals to make repairs to their homes.

USDA Helps to Make Rural Resident's Home Safer!

Patsy Reckart of Weston, Lewis County, in rural West Virginia is a local author and a senior citizen who one day found herself in need of some home modifications for the sake of her own health and safety. Ms. Reckart had fallen in her bathtub and was unable to get out of the… [Read More]
Home RepairHomeownership
Ms. Cynthia Veal holding flowers

Clear and Dry Forecast for Homeowner, No Matter the Weather

"Every time it would rain, I just felt dread," said Ms. Cynthia Veal, a homeowner in Hull, Georgia. Her family home was in desperate need of repairs. She sought help for a new roof. There wasn’t just one place the roof leaked during rainy weather, the entire flat roof was… [Read More]
Home RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022Housing
McDowell's Forever Home in Ponca, Nebraska

USDA Rural Development Reflects on Recent Success with Nebraska Homeowner in Ponca

In September 2020, Julie McDowell of Ponca, Nebraska needed a new furnace and air conditioner for her home. The situation felt dire. Not only was the harsh Nebraska winter on its way, but her old furnace was filling her home with dangerous carbon monoxide. When she bought the… [Read More]
Home RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Two smiling women on porch of a large old home with wrap around porch

Down but Not Out: RD Helps a Neighbor Recover & Rebuild

Elizabeth McCartney never gives up, and she never gives in. A single mom who raised six children on her own, she ascended the career ladder from grocery-store worker to medical researcher through hard work and intensive education culminating in a master’s degree. But it was the… [Read More]
Home RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Mom and two sons standing on the porch of their two-story house, as seen from the yard,

American Dream Comes True for Rural West Virginia Family

Amanda Tomey, a single mother, dreamed of owning her own home. She took the first step by contacting the Homeownership Center in Elkins, West Virginia. Homeownership Center Packager April Sinsel helped Ms. Tomey apply for a Single Family Housing Direct Home Loan, also known as… [Read More]
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Smiling woman standing in the open doorway of her home as seen from the porch of the home.

Flores family sets down roots in the City Beautiful

It was raining, it was pouring, but the only one snoring was Alma Flores’ son in his very own bedroom. On a rainy, spring Wednesday in Wisconsin, Alma hosted USDA Rural Development (RD) and Habitat for Humanity (HFH) to share her favorite things about her family’s new home.… [Read More]
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Yellow one-story house with a smiling woman on the porch.

Customer Recommends USDA for Home Repairs!

"I want to tell you what a wonderful experience I had working with USDA Rural Development..." began the customer appreciation letter written by senior citizen Connie Henson, of Spencer, West Virginia. Ms. Henson wrote, "I needed a new roof for my house and at my age wasn’t sure… [Read More]
Home RepairHomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022
Family standing on the lawn in front of a white two-story house. Two family members are in wheelchairs.

Dennis Family Finds a Home Without Boundaries

The Dennis family, Marc “Bill” and Nicole, broke ground on their new home in Carneys Point earlier this year. Mrs. Dennis is in a wheelchair and their home will be constructed with handicap accessible features throughout. The Dennis family is beyond excited because it has been… [Read More]
HomeownershipHomeownership Month 2022

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