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October, 2016 - In This Issue
 
We were proud to honor some of our amazing staff who reached tenure milestones this year. Together, they represent 170 years of dedicated service to hard working families in the San Joaquin Valley.
JOIN OUR TEAM
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 have openings for a  Self-Help Housing Program Manager responsible for recruitment and financing activities of the mutual self-help housing program; multiple Community Development Specialist positions responsible for helping rural communities in obtaining safe drinking water and sanitary disposal systems; and a Housing Rehabilitation Project Tech to support our Housing Rehabilitation program.

ENGAGING DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES
Self-Help Enterprises was awarded nearly $30,000 from the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment. With the funding, Self-Help Enterprises' Community Development staff will conduct outreach, engagement, and documentation in disadvantaged communities in Madera County. These efforts will engage residents to identify and conceptualize community needs that can apply towards funding opportunities in the future. This experience can sharpen community leaders' abilities, and provide the tools and techniques to become effective leaders to improve their communities.

A portion of the funding will also be used to assist  in a greater effort to develop a proposal to the Department of Water Resources for a disadvantage community outreach and engagement effort over a multi-county area, which includes Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus counties. 

We thank the Rose Foundation for the Communities and the Environment for their support.
SHOP & DONATE
With the holidays approaching, you may be thinking of doing some holiday shopping online.

This year and all year round, you can shop with AmazonSmile and support Self-Help Enterprises. When you shop on Amazon using this link, you'll find the exact same prices and selection as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to our organization.

We hope you'll bookmark the link and share it with your friends and family. We appreciate your support of our mission to work together with low-income families to build and sustain healthy homes and communities.                              
THE GATEWAY: YOUR PATH TO HOMEOWNERSHIP
Homeownership is a dream most families share. It's also one of the most important decisions and the largest purchase families are likely to make. To help families turn the dream into a reality, Self-Help Enterprises, a HUD certified counseling agency, has improved the homeownership education program by launching The Gateway: Your Pathway to Homeownership program. 

Through this program, our experienced homeownership education counselors will help prospective homebuyers prepare for homeownership with:
  • Pre-Purchase Housing Counseling
  • Financial Literacy
  • Post-Purchase Counseling & Education
  • Mortgage & Down Payment Assistance Programs
  • Affordable Housing Opportunities
Serving as a "one-stop" for families looking to start their housing search, our homeownership counselors will walk families through the different types of mortgage rates, the effect credit scores have on being approved for a loan, how much down payment is needed for purchase, and how much home is affordable. A tailored action plan will then be developed for a family's financial homeownership goals.

Services will not stop with the purchase of a home; families can use The Gateway program to obtain information about home maintenance, helping them preserve their investment. 

To get started, prospective homebuyers will need to co ntact Self-Help Enterprises via phone at (559) 651-1000 or via email at gateway@selfhelpenterprises.org. An initial counseling appointment will be scheduled and a $50 fee will reserve the appointment. The fee covers a credit report and a portion of the homeownership education class fee. Upon completing an intake form, providing requested documents, and attending the counseling appointment, homebuyers will be enrolled in an  in-person or online homeownership education class. Classes are available  in English and Spanish. 

Together with launching The Gateway program, Self-Help Enterprises was honored to become a NeighborWorks ® Homeownership Center. This designation assists Self-Help Enterprises with technical assistance to deliver comprehensive, high quality homeownership services.

For more information about The Gateway program, visit our website. 
AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMING TO DINUBA AND LINDSAY
Self-Help Enterprises, in partnership with the California Vanpool Authority, secured $10.1 million in competitive grant funding from the California Strategic Growth Council to fund the construction of an affordable housing development and transit-friendly infrastructure project in Dinuba and Lindsay. 

The 44-unit Sierra Village apartment rental community in Dinuba will feature a vanpool program and other transportation improvements, solar PV and water conservation features - all designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Construction for the housing development is expected to start in April 2017.

Like Sierra Village, the 50-unit Lindsay Village apartment rental community, located on the southeast corner of Westwood and Hermosa, will also feature a vanpool and water conservation features. In addition, bike lanes will be incorporated and a roundabout will be constructed near Jefferson Elementary School to improve safety for students and parents walking to school. Construction for Lindsay Village is expected to start in May 2017.  

Sierra Village and Lindsay Village will also include community centers that will have after-school programs, computer lab, English as a second language classes, financial literacy classes and other services. 

The award is part of the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program run through the Strategic Growth Council and administered by the Housing and Community Development Department.  The AHSC program is funded by cap-and-trade proceeds.

These projects will bring an affordable housing option to hardworking low-income families in Dinuba and Lindsay. 
Rendering of the Sierra Village apartment rental community in Dinuba.
Copyright © 2016, Self Help Enterprises
8445 W. Elowin Court, Visalia, CA 93291		 All Rights Reserved.
559.651.1000