Khine Moe grew up in New City, New York, but always dreamed of having a big home and blossoming garden. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, it was the push she needed to make her dream a reality. She started searching for affordable loan programs and found USDA Rural Development (RD).

“USDA 502 Direct loan program was a great fit because it gave opportunities to people like myself who had limited credit and income and wasn't a likely candidate with big banks,” Ms. Moe said.

“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 faced housing challenges that went from difficult to worse.

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 tub by herself.  After 15 hours, she was rescued by family and friends who, unable to reach her, came to her home to check on her.

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 house in the 1990s she thought it would be her forever home, but after decades of hard work, a medical diagnosis changed her situation and threatened her stability. She found herself on a limited income, and a new system was out of her reach. Luckily, McDowell’s daughter knew U.S.

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 past few years that truly tested Elizabeth’s fortitude and resolve like no other, with cruelly layered tragedies that seemed to never end.

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.

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. 

Having previously lived in a two-bedroom apartment with her family of five, moving into a four-bedroom home has been life changing.