Where:
Utah

Problem:
Home ownership is out of reach for low-income families

Solution:
RCAC helps families achieve home ownership through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) Mutual Self-Help Program

With RCAC’s self-help housing program expertise nine self-help housing agencies across northern and southern Utah have helped nearly 1,000 families become homeowners, despite increasing lot and construction costs.

Each self-help household contributes at least 30 hours a week of labor. Their labor becomes the down payment, known as “sweat equity.”

USDA RD provides funding to nonprofit agencies to implement the Mutual Self-Help Housing program and contracts with RCAC to provide local organizations with program support, management reviews, and one-on-one customized training to ensure that self-help housing agencies are successful.

Among the nine agencies RCAC works with in Utah, two face particularly unique challenges: Self Help Homes (SHH), in Provo and Community Rebuilds (CR), in Moab. SHH’s service area includes Wasatch County, the fastest growing county in the state. With RCAC’s help SHH has assisted more than 369 families become homeowners.

CR’s footprint includes a high-cost resort area at the entryway to Arches National Park. Both agencies are challenged to produce affordable housing against a backdrop of increasing land costs and decreased inventory. CR helps individuals and families build their home using natural building methods including straw bales, which are sustainable and feature solar panels to reduce utility costs.