A federally funded program that requires families to put in their own labor is helping low-income Hillsborough County residents buy homes. One graduate, a single mother and Army veteran, has since become a licensed builder.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office announced $28 million in funding through its Single Family Housing Mutual Self-Help Housing Grants program. The money is expected to support 579 new housing units and 181 rehabilitations nationwide. Under the model, qualified low- and very-low-income families help build their own homes, and their labor reduces the cost of ownership.
In southern Hillsborough County, Florida Home Partnership has used the USDA 502 Mutual Self-Help Housing program for 30 years and is pursuing new development in Ruskin, according to CEO Detra Smith-O’Bryant. She said participants can benefit from no down payment, stronger community ties and, at times, better interest rates than a traditional lender might offer.
“It gives us relief to fill that gap so that our families can really have a place to call home,” Smith-O’Bryant told Bay News 9 Tampa.
Yvette Dickinson went through the program as a single mother of two young daughters. She is a U.S. Army veteran who said she still struggled to find affordable homes and loans.
“With these programs, being able to put my sweat into the home, not only was I able to show my girls hard work does pay off, but hard work also saved us some money,” Dickinson said. “It gave me the opportunity to see what I was capable of.”
Dickinson now works for Florida Home Partnership, helping other families pursue homeownership the same way, and says she recently became a certified licensed builder in Florida.
“You never forget your first home you built,” she said.
Federal taxpayers fund the program, and its model depends on participants earning their stake through labor rather than receiving a home outright.
Follow the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun on Facebook, Google, & X
St. Pete-Clearwater Sun: local St. Pete-Clearwater & Tampa Bay, FL news at PIE-Sun.com
