Each issue of HAC’s Rural Voices magazine focuses on a single topic important to rural communities, with subjects ranging from housing for older rural residents to the future of housing finance to citizen-led design. Local rural housing professionals from around the country write most of the articles, sharing their expertise, best practices, and even the mistakes they’ve learned from. To hear when a new issue of the magazine is published, sign up for HAC’s email list or watch for announcements in the HAC News and on social media.

Fall 2011: Housing and Water: The Critical Connection

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A joint issue of HAC’s Rural Voices and the Rural Community Assistance Partnership’s (RCAP) Rural Matters

View From Washington

USDA and the Obama Administration: Working to meet the needs of rural homeowners
by USDA Rural Development Undersecretary Dallas Tonsager

FEATURES

Figuring It Out: Bringing Infrastructure to Affordable Housing Development Projects
Infrastructure improvements can rapidly increase the cost of an affordable housing development. HOPE shares strategies that have worked for them to fund these improvements.

Former Pineapple Plantation Continues to Bear Fruit
A Hawaii nonprofit partners with RCAP to save the affordable housing in Kunia after a pineapple producer leaves the town.

A Housing and Water Project that is ‘A Gift From God’
The community of Hobson Bay, Va. improved its infrastructure and housing stock dramatically with the help of Southeast RCAP.

Persistence and Perseverance: Tackling Infrastructure Challenges in Northwest, North Carolina
Comprehensive infrastructure development plans must take into account political and financial challenges that may impact even the most well thought-out project.

Location, Location, Location: Developing the Morley Meadows Subdivision in Santaquin, Utah
As with all housing development, location is key; however, when infrastructure is taken into account, location can be both an asset and a challenge.

Creating Comfortable Housing for a Growing Population of Seniors
How RCAP Solutions assembled the Townsend Woods project, the first LEED-certified HUD 202 senior development in Massachusetts.

Keeping the Water Flowing in Rural America for 35 Years
For 35 years, Community Resource Group has been working to insure access to clean, safe water for all rural Americans.

Summer 2011: Lower Mississippi Delta

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View From Washington

Housing in the Mississippi Delta
by Congressman Bennie Thompson

FEATURES

Lower Mississippi Delta Nonprofit Capacity Survey Results Summary
A summary of HAC’s survey of Delta nonprofit housing developers, implemented to gain a better understanding of the existing network of organizations and their needs.

Housing Rehabilitation in the Delta
By David Hargrove
Partnering with local high schools, the Purchase Area Housing Corporation is building homes and providing valuable job training for local youth at the same time.

Making Homeownership Attainable: Family Resources of New Orleans
By Paula Pete
Family Resources of New Orleans is working in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill to help families who are still struggling to recover.

From Helpless to Hopeful to Homeowner
By Dazetta L. Thorne
Seventh District Pavilion, Inc., is finding success through its housing counseling program one homeowner at a time.\

When Lightning Strikes Twice: Disaster Recovery in Yazoo County
By Linda Smith
After the county was hit by tornadoes twice in less than eight months, the Esther Stewart Buford Foundation is working to help families prepare for the next storm.

“Building Today’s Communities for Tomorrow” in Louisiana
By Emel J. Alexander and Vernard Sterling, Jr.
Urban Restoration Enhancement Corporation relies on partnerships to help the residents of Baton Rouge and the surrounding parishes help themselves.

Special Edition 2011: Rural Housing Programs That Work

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Features

USDA Housing Programs:

Expand Homeownership. By providing affordable mortgages to low- and very low-income households, USDA Sections 502 and 523 increase homeownership rates beyond what the private market will support.

  • USDA Housing Programs have Countless Benefits, by Neal Gibson, NRHA
  • USDA Funding Helps Put an End to the Cycle of Poverty In Rural Colorado, by Brittnee Wood, CRHDC
  • A Chance at Homeownership, by Tom Sommerville, HRWC
  • Building Sustainable Assets through Homeownership, by Dana Cleary, CHISPA

Promote Affordability. The low rates of foreclosure for self-help and other USDA-financed homes show that USDA housing programs provide truly affordable mortgages.

  • Bringing Down Housing Costs in Hawaii, by Claudia Shay, SHHCH
  • Innovating to Affordability, by Mark Kvammen, NEICAC

Create Jobs. Section 502 funds support local businesses that sell materials, construction workers, plumbers, electricians, and others who depend on housing development for their livelihood.

  • States Recognize the Benefit of USDA Housing Programs, by Jill Lordan, NCALL
  • Supporting Local Businesses in Kentucky, by Wilma Kelley, BHDC
  • Getting the Economic Ball Rolling , by Kimberly Miller, UHDC.

Stabilize Families and Communities. Homeownership benefits families through a more stable environment for children and more investment in the surrounding community; particularly if the whole block help build one another’s home.

  • With Drive and Determination, by Becky Reynolds, Little Dixie CAA
  • Finding a Way Home, by David Ferrier, CHIP
  • Building Homes and Communities in America’s Breadbasket, by Tom Collishaw, SHE

Conference 2010: Rural Housing Leaders Reflect: Where do we go from here?

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  • Pinky Clifford, Oglala Sioux Tribal Partnerships for Housing
  • Peter Carey, Self-Help Enterprises
  • Rose Garcia, Tierra del Sol Housing Corporation
  • John Zippert, The Federation of Southern Cooperatives
  • Steve Kirk, Rural Housing, Inc.
  • Griffin Lotson, Sams Memorial Community Economic Development, Inc.
  • Art Gonzales, Southeastern Wisconsin Housing Corporation
  • Polly Nichol, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board

Fall 2010: Rural CHDOs: Building Capacity, Building Homes

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  • Special Feature – 2010 HAC National Rural Housing Conference: Honoring Our Past As We Look to the Future
  • Navigating the CHDO Process – Total Action Against Poverty
  • Celebrating California’s First Native American-Based Community Housing Development Organization – United Native Housing Development Corporation
  • With Tighter Budgets, Vermont CHDOs Focus on Sustainability – Vermont Housing and Conservation Board
  • Making Homeownership Dreams a Reality–at an Affordable Price – Affordable Homes of South Texas, Inc.
  • Capacity Leads to Access – North East Community Action Corporation

Spring 2010: Going for Green

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  • Energy Efficiency – Profile: Rural Development, Inc.
  • Sustainable Sites – Profile: Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
  • Water Conservation – Profile: OPAL Community Land Trust
  • Green Rehabilitation – Profile: Umpqua CDC
  • Materials & Resources – Profile: Community Housing Partners
  • Indoor Air Quality – Profile: Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation
  • Special Feature – National Rural Housing Conference 2010: Learning Opportunities

Winter 2009 – 10: Building a Brighter Future in the Colonias

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  • View from Washington: Bringing Hope to the Colonias
  • The Old Nogales Highway Colonia: A Work in Progress
  • Engaging Communities: One Person at a Time
  • The Nuestra Casa Home Improvement Loan Program and the Old Dream of a Concrete Home
  • Seeking Solutions: The Human Injustice of Colonias Pushes One Nonprofit to Seek Solutions
  • Southwest border of Arizona snd Mexico Colonias News
  • Advocating for Equity in California’s Rural communities
  • Protecting the Environment and Creating Affordable Housing
  • USDA Rural Housing Service: A New Direction

Fall 2009: Nonprofit Sustainability: Doing More with Less

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  • Nonprofits in the Current Recession
  • Crafting a Path Toward Long-Term Viability
  • Getting Results from an Outreach Campaign
  • Speaking to the Community
  • Sharing the Gift
  • Expanding Our Capacity
  • Collaborative Workspace and Services
  • Nonprofit Organizational Sustainability through Community Partnerships
  • Nonprofit Sustainability: A Foundation’s Perspective
  • SPECIAL FEATURE: Benefitting from the Housing Act of 1949

Summer 2009: Making Housing Fair – Rural Enforcement and Collaboration

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  • Fair Housing Practices
  • The Challenges of Fair Housing Enforcement in Rural America
  • Enforcement in Maine of Family Status Protections
  • Collaboration as a Second Language
  • Combating Housing Discrimination and Promoting Housing Justice for the Disabled in Rural Iowa
  • Protecting the Rights of Vulnerable Populations
  • View from Washington: USDA Office of Civil Rights
  • View from Washington: HUD Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
  • Special Feature: One Person’s Connections with the Housing Act of 1949

Spring 2009: Public Housing Authorities: Partnering in Rural Communities

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  • Speical Feature: Reflections on USDA Rural Housing
  • Housing Authorities and Rural Communities
  • Broadening our Reach: Randolph County Housing Authority
  • Invest Your Best: The Importance of Partnership
  • Moving to Flexibility: Encouraging Flexible Public Housing Programs
  • Helping Renters Become Homeowners
  • View from Washington: Public Housing Preservation