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April Newsletter - In This Issue
 
This month, ten hardworking families received the keys to their new, safe, affordable homes in Parksdale (Madera County).  The families built their homes together through the self-help housing program  with homeowners providing over 65% of the construction labor

Since 1965, Self-Help Enterprises has helped more than 6,200 families in the San Joaquin Valley build their own homes.  Congratulations to the new homeowners!
SELF-HELP ENTERPRISES NAMED A TOP 50 AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPER
Self-Help Enterprises is honored to be among the nation's top 50 affordable housing developers named by  Affordable Housing Finance . Through our housing rehabilitation, self-help housing, rental housing and community development efforts, Self-Help Enterprises, ranked number 42, started construction on nine developments with 156 affordable homes in 2017. 

Last year, Self-Help Enterprises broke ground on two new apartment rental communities in Tulare County - the 44-unit Sierra Village apartements in Dinuba and 50-unit Palm Terrace apartments in Lindsay. Both will be completed this year and will incorporate sustainable features, including solar PV, water conservation measures, and a vanpool program. 

This year, Self-Help Enterprises is seeking financing for more than 300 new multifamily units in six projects.  

Read more here
PARKSDALE FAMILIES RECEIVE SOLAR ELECTRIC SYSTEMS
GRID Alternatives Central Valley partnered with Self-Help Enterprises to celebrate Earth Day with the Annual Solarthon in Parksdale (Madera County) on April 21. Eight families who built their own homes through Self-Help Enterprises' self-help housing program received solar electric systems during the one-day installation event. 

Volunteers and solar job trainees from GRID Alternatives installed the solar photovoltaic systems on rooftops of the homes. The systems will provide access to clean, affordable energy, which will save the homeowners money on their electric bills.  


The eight homes were built by families at or below 80% of the area medium income. Through the self-help housing program, families contribute over 65 percent of the construction labor. These labor hours, or "sweat equity," are used as the down payment on their homes. 

Over the past several years, Self-Help Enterprises has partnered with GRID Alternatives to provide rooftop solar to over 100 self-help homebuilders in the San Joaquin Valley.
 

JOIN OUR TEAM
We have multiple openings for Community Development Specialists in our Community Development Department, which helps rural, low-income communities in obtaining safe drinking water and sanitary disposal systems. The responsibilities include working with communities, water and sewer boards, and engineers to facilitate project planning and development.
 
We're also hiring a Construction Superintendent for the north service area (Fresno and north). The superintendent is responsible for the training and supervision of mutual self-help housing participants in the construction of their new homes.

Self-Help Enterprises offers great benefits including year-round, stable work; medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401K; paid holidays; and more.
PARKWOOD PARK RE-OPENS TO THE MADERA COMMUNITY
On April 10, Self-Help Enterprises and the County of Madera held a grand re-opening and ribbon cutting for Parkwood Park, located on the southwest corner of Georgia Avenue and Watt Street in Madera, to highlight the completion of park improvements and revitalization of the community park.

The celebration unveiled the new child play area and basketball courts. The new playground blends into the landscape of Parkwood Park and features many fun and playful elements of playground design. The project also included a complete site rehabilitation with new grounds, tables, BBQ pits, benches, as well as new trees, a re-seeded lawn, and installation of a new shrub bed with irrigation. In addition, all restrooms were replaced with new toilets, sinks, hand dryers, and door locks.

These improvements enhance public safety for all the city's residents and visitors using the park and provide a sustainable green space for community recreation. Neighborhood resident Angie Santos said, "I never felt encouraged to come to this park with my kids. I drove by one day after my neighbor told me about the changes and saw the new park. Now I'll be bringing my kids here. They have a great place to play."

Self-Help Enterprises was charged by the County of Madera with implementation and administration of the Housing-Related Parks Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development, which funded the project. The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) allocated $189,000 in Housing-Related Parks Program (HRPP) funds to the County of Madera for the costs of Park and Recreation Facility rehabilitation.

Self-Help Enterprises' staff worked together with Duley's Landscape, Courts and Greens, Featherstone Construction, and California Labor Consulting who served as the general contractors for this project.

Along with neighborhood community members, we were honored to have Robert Mansfield, Madera County Senior Planner, and County Supervisor Max Rodriguez join us for the event.

See more photos of the event  here .
LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING
U.S. Congressman David G. Valadao joined USDA Rural Development State Director Kim Dolbow Vann, and Self-Help Enterprises CEO Tom Collishaw, to tour the self-help subdivision in Wasco on March 28.

Through his position
on the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Valadao is critical to ensuring funding for programs Self-Help Enterprises relies upon to serve rural communities. Since coming to Congress in 2013, Congressman Valadao has been an advocate for many USDA RD programs utilized by Self-Help Enterprises, securing $8.75 billion in federal funding over the last six years. 


Coordination between Congress, federal agencies, and local organizations can responsibly and effectively improve communities. With funding appropriated by Congress for programs such as USDA Rural Development, Self-Help Enterprises works together with low-income families to build and sustain healthy homes and communities through the self-help housing program.

Assemblymember Rudy Salas and his staff volunteered in Wasco on April 20, helping families who are in the final stages of building their own homes. 
Assemblymember Salas has provided ongoing support to our housing programs - from coordinating back-to-school backpack donations and providing dozens of new coats to students at Self-Help Enterprises' apartment rental communities in Kern County to volunteering several times at our self-help construction sites. 

Ten families are currently in the final stages of building their own homes in the Wasco subdivision and are expected to move-in in early May. Ten additional families will soon join them as they are currently in beginning stages of construction on their self-help homes. Over a twelve-month period, the groups of families work together on nearly every aspect of the homes - from pouring foundations to framing homes - with direction from a skilled onsite construction supervisor. Each homeowner contributes a minimum of forty hours per week toward completion of all homes in the group. This labor, known as "sweat equity," is used as the down payment on their new home, resulting in affordable monthly payments. The families receive their keys and move into their homes once all homes in the group are completed. 

With support from Congressional and Assembly representatives, ongoing partnerships between USDA and Self-Help Enterprises continue to create affordable housing and homeownership opportunities for hundreds of low-income families. The completion of the twenty homes will bring a total of 133 homes to Wasco since the first self-help houses were constructed in 1971.
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