usda home repair

Nellie Buckman is the daughter of a migrant worker.  Growing up her family moved from place to place a lot.  She never really had a place to call home until her adult years when she moved into a little tiny house that was originally from Igloo, South Dakota, which incidentally  is  located on the same lot line as her current residence which was built by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 1979.  Over the years, the Buckmans raised 10 children in this home.  The transition from the little small house to the HUD house was quite an experience for the family.  The HUD house was much bigger and in the beginning, the children all slept in one bedroom until they got used to having extra space.  Her children now grown, Buckman’s home continues to be a gathering place for her large family.

“I love having a place to call home, to care for, and have all of my trinkets and memories surround me,” said Nellie Buckman.

Betty and Kee Acothley live miles off the beaten track in the former Bennett Freeze area on the Navajo Nation.

Kee once tended thousands of head of sheep at the remote sheep camp he and his wife Betty call home. Now, at 80, he keeps only around 70 head. He and Betty, 79, follow the sheep on foot every day, returning to their modest home before dusk.

On a chilly, gray morning, under the shadow of the still challenging Nevada economy, more than 70 people gathered in the beautiful Nevada State Capitol building to share with each other why it remains so important to keep the dream of homeownership alive. In the majestic and historic Old Assembly Chambers, homeowners, realtors, and lenders active in USDA Rural Development Direct and Guaranteed Home loan programs participated in a two part event, as Nevada Rural Development State Director Sarah Adler put it: “recognition and revenue.”

Jeff Bishop, a homeowner from Washoe County, won the heart of the crowd with his simple eloquence. Jeff is a high school janitor, a musician, a family man. His wife Brooke and their two daughters, Emma and Rose, stood proudly by him, grinning, showing off their hand-drawn poster of their new home.

South Dakota Rural Development State Director Elsie M. Meeks addressed a crowd of nearly 500 attendees at the 37^th Annual National American Indian Council Convention & Trade Show in Phoenix, Arizona last week.   This year’s theme was “Connect to the Past, Commit to the Future.”

Meeks, an Oglala Sioux Tribal Member, highlighted Rural Development’s programs and provided stats on the opportunities provided to American Indian/Alaska Native families on a national scale since the year 2000. She noted that the  Single Family Housing Direct Program has helped over 2,600 Native families become homeowners during that time and that  the USDA Guaranteed program has helped an additional 3,700 families achieve their homeownership dreams.  In addition the USDA Home Repair program has funded home repairs for over 3,000 Native families.