Our Resident Services team hosted two Harvest Festivals this season at Sierra Village and Sequoia Commons, SHE rental communities in Dinuba and Goshen, respectively. All residents were invited to enjoy hot dogs, aguas frescas, and pumpkin pie. Anthem Blue Cross helped to sponsor the meals for both events.

Each Harvest Festival included a health resource fair component, thanks to a Rural LISC Healthy Housing grant focused on advancing health equity for Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) residents in both communities. Multiple community partners were also in attendance to help share various resources related to health, education, parenting, emergency preparedness, and other social services with all residents in attendance.   

While the parents gathered helpful information, their children played carnival-like games and chose a pumpkin to take home for the holiday!  

SHE is committed to creating a safe learning environment for residents and their children. We work with many community partners to provide free resident services such as job training, health and medical services, financial training, and homebuyer education. The combination of housing and resident services is a way SHE helps people help themselves. Learn more

This month, Tri Counties Bank announced a partnership with Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) to launch a new Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program in the Valley! Tri Counties Bank is funding the program with a $150,000 donation to support low- and moderate-income homebuyers in Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare and Kern Counties. 

SHE will coordinate the new program and all home mortgages will be financed through Tri Counties Bank. Qualified low- and moderate-income borrowers can apply to receive up to 3% of their future home’s purchase price (up to $10,000) in down-payment assistance loans. All loans have a term of five years with zero percent interest and will qualify for forgiveness if terms are met. 

“Tri Counties Bank is pleased to continue partnering with SHE to provide low-income buyers with the opportunity to achieve the dream of purchasing their first home,” said Aytom Salomon, Senior Vice President and Market President of Tri Counties Bank’s Greater Bakersfield region. “Our goal is to strengthen and grow our communities, especially those that have been underserved in the Central Valley area.” 

“This partnership with Tri Counties Bank is vital to bringing home ownership within reach for hard working families in the San Joaquin Valley,” said Tom Collishaw, President and CEO of SHE. “Owning a home continues to be the most important path to economic security in this country.” 

In addition to the DPA Program, Tri Counties Bank and SHE offered two “Understanding Down Payment Assistance” workshops this month. The workshops were hosted at the Annadale Commons Community Center in Fresno. Attendees learned about the program’s process and about qualifying for down payment assistance. 

On October 18th, nine families in Orosi officially received the keys to their newly built homes and have started moving in!  

The homes were built through SHE’s Mutual Self-Help Housing program, a service where families can achieve homeownership by building their own homes, as well as their neighbors’ homes. Past construction experience is not a requirement. With skilled onsite supervision and guidance from SHE construction staff, the families were able to join forces to learn and build together as future neighbors. Each family contributed at least 40 hours per week to construct their homes. These labor hours, or “sweat equity,” are used as the down payment on their new home, reducing costs for a new home they could otherwise not afford. All participants also went through SHE’s Gateway Program, which offered educational and counseling services to help equip them with the tools necessary for optimal sustainable homeownership.  

Ten more families in the Orosi community will soon finish construction on their homes via the program. Once completed, a total of 37 Mutual Self-Help Housing homes will make up the Orosi neighborhood. Learn more about the Mutual Self-Help Housing program. 

This past summer, our Emergency Services team was busy helping residents needing drought and emergency support. The summer weather challenges made it crucial to stay ready for evacuations during wildfires, floods, and even earthquakes. As we transition into the year's cooler months, we want to remind everyone that wildfires and emergencies can happen anytime. Even a week of warm, dry, and windy weather between rainy days can be enough to start a raging fire and catch residents off-guard. Grassy environments could increase risk for many of the rural communities we serve. To help promote wildfire awareness, Self-Help Enterprises has partnered with PG&E to also help reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases affecting the San Joaquin Valley.   

Ensure your safety by taking these steps: 

1. Evacuate promptly whenever a fire or disaster approaches. 
2. Discuss a meeting spot with loved ones in case returning home is not possible. 
3. Assemble an emergency supply kit with essential items. 
4. Familiarize yourself with Red Flag Warnings and how to access weather reports. 

Need help with creating your 5-minute plan? For ideas to prepare for any disaster, visit firefightersonyourside.org. 

This year, we announced the exciting promotion of Betsy McGovern-Garcia to Vice President of Self-Help Enterprises. Before her promotion, Betsy served as the Director of Real Estate Development. We are now recruiting for a new Director to help lead the Real Estate Development team and serve as an active participant on the Executive Leadership Team, which develops, guides and advances the goals and mission of the organization.  

The Director will lead a multi-faceted team responsible for all aspects of real estate development and housing rehabilitation, including but not limited to project feasibility analysis, market research, financing, operating budgets, environmental review, due diligence, risk assessment, land use approvals and negotiations, community outreach, and entitlement processes. Learn more about the exciting role!

Our team of 200+ people are joined with a shared mission of working with families to build and sustain healthy homes and communities. You can too!