Where: Wellton, Arizona

Problem: Low-income residents in Arizona colonias lack access to decent, affordable housing.  

Solution: RCAC works with Housing America Corporation (HAC) to implement the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Mutual Self-Help Housing Program.

More than one-third of the residents in Wellton, Arizona, a designated colonia, live below the poverty level. As such, they face significant challenges to access decent, affordable housing.

Housing America Corporation (HAC), a USDA Mutual Self-Help Housing Program Section 523 grantee that provides self-help housing services in Somerton and Kingman, sought to expand its services to provide home ownership opportunities to Wellton’s residents. While the organization has provided self-help services for 35 years, it was still a challenge to expand the program to a new community.

RCAC has worked with HAC for many years, providing self-help training and technical assistance. Although it is not common in Arizona for an organization to manage two Section 523 grants simultaneously, RCAC staff worked with HAC obtain permission from U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s Arizona staff to obtain permission to apply for a second grant for the Wellton project. As a result, HAC was able to secure funding for 10 lots, and planning activities for recruitment of self-help participants in Wellton are now underway.

Participants in the self-help housing program perform at least 65 percent of the labor to construct their own and their neighbors’ homes, providing sweat equity which combined with a Section 502 direct loan creates an affordable mortgage.

In addition to self-help specific training and technical assistance, RCAC has provided HAC organizational strengthening assistance in the areas of executive recruitment, USDA 502 loan packaging, strategic planning and board development. RCAC’s Loan Fund also provided a $98,500 revolving line of credit to HAC to cover operating expenses.