Self-Help Enterprises offers an exciting work environment where you can bring your high caliber skills to a true career opportunity and impact the world around you.
We are 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. We also have an opening for a Community Development Project Tech to support our Community Development program.
Self-Help Enterprises offers great benefits including year-round, stable work; medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401K; paid holidays; and more.
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VOLUNTEERS LEND A HELPING HAND
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In 2017, over 4,300 hours were contributed by volunteers who committed time, resources, and energy to help low-income families in need of safe, affordable housing.
Guided by a construction superintendent, the volunteers helped with framing, hanging doors, landscaping, laying tile, and painting the interior and exterior of the homes.
Among the volunteers, Self-Help Enterprises hosted students from Fresno State, UC San Diego, and Dunn School from Los Olivos. In addition, we hosted members from Wells Fargo, Bula Ministries, and Parkside Community Church from San Diego. In June, 150 youth and adults from La Casa de Cristo Church, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, spent four days of their summer vacation working alongside participants building homes in Traver. Over the four days, the group contributed 2,400 hours of volunteer time.
We are incredibly grateful to all our volunteers for contributing their time to help families achieve the dream of homeownership.
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A year end gift to our organization can change the lives of those in our communities.
More than 80 percent of low-income families are burdened by the cost of housing. We provide homes that are not only affordable, but safe for families in our community.
During the recent drought years, many families needed assistance hooking up to nearby water sources or needed a new well to replace their shallow well. Your donations helped make this work possible.
Help us to continue providing safe affordable homes, and opportunities for individuals, families, and our community to thrive. 100% of your donation will go directly to pay for program services.
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CELEBRATING NEW SELF-HELP HOUSING IN WOODLAKE
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Self-Help Enterprises held a groundbreaking ceremony on December 7 to recognize 10 families who are beginning construction in Woodlake on their new affordable homes through the mutual self-help housing program. A ceremonial "turning of the dirt" commemorated the occasion.
The City of Woodlake is home to many agricultural workers and other hardworking families who have been effectively shut out of the home purchase market due to lack of new construction or existing homes on the market. To address the demand from the community for affordable housing, the City of Woodlake partners with Self-Help Enterprises to facilitate housing programs offering diverse housing options.
 For the Reynoso family (pictured left), the self-help housing program means an opportunity for a better future. As Corrine Reynoso stated, "Our kids are very excited to have their own room and we are excited to have a home to call our own. This has been our dream. The affordable mortgage will help us save for our children's futures." Jose Antonio Reynoso is the second generation to build a self-help home. His parents built a self-help home in the early 90s and he remembers helping his parents build the home during his teen years.
The new self-help housing subdivision, known as Valencia Heights, will add a total of 70 new, affordable homes on a 15-acre subdivision that features a neighborhood park. The completion of the 70 homes will bring a total of 257 homes to Woodlake since the first self-help houses were constructed in 1967.
The homes are built under the USDA Rural Development mutual self-help housing program, with homeowners providing over 65 percent of the construction labor. Over a nine to twelve month period, groups of eight to twelve families work together on nearly every aspect of the homes with direction from a skilled construction supervisor. The Energy-Star certified homes range from 1,240 to 1,480 square feet and feature three or four bedrooms, two baths, covered patios, and two-car garages.
Thank you to City of Woodlake officials and our community partners for joining us and sharing your support for affordable home ownership!
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As the year draws to a close, we take a moment to reflect on the past year and our accomplishments toward our mission of working together with low-income families to build and sustain healthy homes and communities.
 In March, families and community partners joined Self-Help Enterprises to celebrate our designation as a NeighborWorks® Homeownership Center. As a Homeownership Center, we work with families to turn the dream of homeownership into a reality through the
Gateway Homeownership Education program. Through the program, Self-Help Enterprises' homeownership coaches help participants determine their mortgage readiness, review and address credit problems, assess their buying power and financing options, and develop a tailored action plan to overcome any obstacles to their homeownership goals.
Throughout the year, Self-Help Enterprises installed solar PV and a variety of
energy conservation measures at five rental communities, totaling 304 units, through
funding from the Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP). The rental communities include North Park (Oildale), Solinas Village
(McFarland), Almond Court (Wasco), Goshen Village II (Goshen), and Casas De La Vina (La Vina). Among the properties, improvements included upgraded hot water systems for more efficient hot water distribution, replacement of all older windows with new energy efficient dual pane windows, replacement of older air-conditioning/heating units, new interior and exterior LED lighting, and more. The retrofits have
lowered utility costs for residents. These improvements have also resulted in Casas de La Vina being the first known farmworker housing retrofit to achieve zero net energy.
In November, the rural community of Monson in Tulare County celebrated the new water system that now provides safe and reliable drinking water to the community. After many years of collaboration by the Monson-Sultana communities and a multitude of agencies and organizations, phase one of the Monson community well and water system is completed. This includes the drilling of a community well and construction of a water distribution system that brings water to approximately 30 homes in Monson.
We look forward to continuing to improve the living conditions of San Joaquin Valley residents in the new year.
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