Where: Livingston, Merced County, California

Issue: Lack of community facilities and essential services in high poverty areas

Outcome: RCAC’s Loan Fund provides $6.6 million community facility loan

The city of Livingston is located about 16 miles north of Merced. Livingston and Merced County are a center for a vast agricultural industry, where agricultural workers provide much of the labor but earn low wages. While the poverty rate in Livingston is 10 percent, the surrounding area’s rate is well above 20 percent.

Livingston Community Health is a nonprofit health center that provides comprehensive primary and preventive care services to patients, regardless of their ability to pay. The organization is currently operating out of a facility that limits its ability to provide services, such as much needed dental care. LCHS planned to construct a community health campus that would include medical, dental and administrative buildings, and site improvements including a children’s play area.

In 2017, RCAC received $30 million in grant funds through the USDA RD’s Community Facilities Re-Lending Loan Program. This is a Public/Private partnership between RCAC and USDA RD to make low interest rate/long term loans available to nonprofit organizations, public bodies and federally recognized Tribes to provide essential community facilities. This funding allowed RCAC’s Loan Fund to finance the health center’s new facility. Because the Livingston facility will serve a high poverty area, it qualifies for the program and the Loan Fund provided a $6.6 million community facility loan.

Once constructed, the facility will be more than twice the size of LCHS’ current site, and will enable the organization to provide quality healthcare, dental and other vital services to its patients.