Milford Housing Development Corporation hosts work day
In celebration of National Homeownership Month, employees of Milford Housing Development Corp. and volunteers gathered in Milford to help build a new house. Under the program, families don’t just obtain a new home; they build it.
MHDC, founded in 1977, looks to provide decent, safe and affordable housing solutions to people of modest means. Programs on housing issues such as transitional housing, rental housing, self-help housing, home repairs and rehabilitation, property management and financial fitness have helped the corporation become Delaware’s leading nonprofit provider of affordable housing.
In 2012 alone, the corporation helped 26 families obtain self-help homes, 52 families found affordable rental units and 226 emergency-related home repairs were made throughout the state. David Sandretti, USDA Rural Development National Director, said “We make sure folks have affordable, safe housing.”
The popular self-help program offers low-income families an opportunity to build a new home with the aid of credit counseling, loan packaging and construction training. Each participant, who can range in age from 19 to 63, works with five to six other families, building all the houses on weekday evenings and on weekends. While all the houses are built in about 10 months, no one can move in to their house until every participant’s house is complete.
On June 24, volunteers gathered from MHDC, Discover Bank, Lank Johnson and Tull County Firm, USDA and Catholic Heart Work Camp came to help build two houses in the self-help program. Paula Puello, the future owner of one of the houses under constructio, was there to witness the number of volunteers and help with the work that day.
“I’ve been trying for so long to buy a house, and this is the best thing to happen to me,” she said. In about 10 months, she and her 2 kids will be able to move in to their new home. Her neighbor will be Crishawna Reeves, who is also a participant in the self-help program.
Ashley Hoban, the housing services manager for MHDC, said there are a large number of children that have gone through the self-help program themselves and are now encouraging their parents to do the same. “It’s more a self-empowerment program,” she said.
When the houses are finished and energy certified, the USDA, EPA and county inspect them to be sure they are safe and worthy to live in. The families are able to pay off their houses, with loans at interest rates from 1 percent to 3 percent, depending on their income.
For Hoban, the program offers more than the home itself.
“It’s more of a self-empowerment program,” she said.
For more information go to milfordhousing.com or call 302-422-8255.
