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I N THE NEWS
A Prosperous Future for Do Dooley Scholarship Winner - Georgina Galvez
Georgina ‘Gina’ Galvez has a bright future ahead of her. Today, she gets ready to graduate Avenal High with honors and a trail of impressive accolades behind her. Gina is one of the proud recipients of the Doris Dooley Scholarship— an award established to help the children of Self-Help Enterprises’ participant families to further their education.

But her journey to academic excellence was never smooth sailing. Gina was born in Jalisco, Mexico and migrated to the US with her family when she was about 6 years old. Her father received amnesty during the Reagan administration and thus was able to help his family attain legal residency. Gina and her family lived in Sacramento for a couple of years where she struggled tremendously to assimilate. “I didn’t speak one word of English so it was very hard,” said Gina. After her father got injured while working in construction, they moved to Kettleman City where her mother continued to work in the fields to provide for her family. It was there that she got the confidence to practice and better her English. Read more.

Longtime Board Member - Graciela Martinez Retires
After 21 years of serving on SHE's Board of Directors, Graciela Martinez is stepping down. Graciela was a young advocate and a staff member of the American Friends (Quaker) Service Committee Farm Labor Program in Tulare County when the decision was made by the Friends to incorporate Self-Help Enterprises as the first organization of its kind in the nation. In fact, she typed much of the required paperwork, working alongside Howard Washburn, who became SHE’s first Executive Director in 1965.

In the time she served on the SHE Board, she has been a tireless advocate for the people SHE serves, a champion for minority groups, an ambassador for SHE and a true inspiration for all who work at SHE.

"While we will miss her wisdom and counsel at our meetings and in our deliberations, we will be content in the knowledge that she will remain a friend and confidante." - Tom Collishaw, President & CEO, Self-Help Enterprises
Woodlake Families Move In
On May 1, 2019, ten Woodlake families received the keys to their brand new homes! Through the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program , the participating families worked together on every house in the group, contributing a minimum of 40 hours a week for an approximate period of 9- 12 months. These labor hours are known as “sweat equity" and are used as the down payment on their new home, reducing costs for a new home they could otherwise not afford. SHE also assists each applicant with securing the loans needed to build their home. Woodlake 19 is the first completed group with new home plans, which included new elevations (exterior front), flooring, doors and windows.

"In the beginning it was hard to believe that we would end up with a house, that we could actually build the house," said Maria Bravo, mother of Gabriela Bravo, owner of a new Woodlake 19 Self-Help home. "This is my daughter's home, and together with her son, my grandson of 16 years old, we worked on the house together. It was a lot of hard work but we made it happen. We are all very happy now."

SHE Awarded San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Awards
On May 9th, the SJV Regional Planning Agencies Policy Council and the Kings County Association of Governments hosted the 14th Annual Policy Conference where they held the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Awards luncheon. SHE proudly accepted two Awards of Excellence, including the Residential Development Project for the Sierra Village Apartments in Dinuba. The second award for Excellence in a Transportation Enhancement Project was awarded to the Palm Terrace Apartments and roundabout infrastructure project in Lindsay.
 
The purpose of the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Awards program is to encourage quality in planning and development by recognizing outstanding achievements and practices in the built environment. In recognizing and celebrating projects that reflect the Blueprint Principles, the program provides visual examples of attractive, functional and environmentally friendly projects that could have relevance throughout the Valley. Sierra Village and Palm Terrace incorporate higher density affordable housing with focused transportation and sustainability improvements designed to reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions. SHE extends a huge thank you to the various project partners who helped to make these projects possible.
Residents Meet With County Supervisor
Recently, residents of Parksdale Village II in Madera and members of the Residents United Network (R.U.N.), Francisca Lopez, Rosa Santos and Roxana Garcia met with Madera County Supervisor Max Rodriguez. In addition to communicating the importance of R.U.N., the residents shared their need for more policing efforts in their neighborhood.

R.U.N. is an advocacy based effort to help build, strengthen and promote the voices of residents around a variety of issues that need to be addressed for the betterment of their community. A large piece of building the resident leadership is meeting with their elected officials (i.e. city, county, state, federal reps) to be able to share their concerns. 
Upcoming Events
Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Time: 6:00am - 7:30pm
Cost: FREE
Location: Community Youth Ministries - Reedley
1592 11th Street.

Learn about:
  • The GATEWAY: Homeownership Education Program
  • Self-Help Housing
  • Homebuyer Assistance
  • Housing Rehabilitation
  • Financial Management/Credit Repair

MUST CALL (559) 651-1000 to reserve your seat.