Rural Community Assistance

Loan Fund:The Department had a productive year nearly matching our 2023 lending activity. The Loan Fund financed 84 projects lending over $75.4 million in our rural communities. This generated 520 affordable housing units, helped produce and repair 9,384 waste/water connections, created 13,858 in community facility space and helped create or retain 1,667 jobs. RCAC provided ReLieF loans to our business owners struggling from the impact of covid and the current economy. The pipeline of applications remains strong, the outstanding portfolio stood at over $132 million with a delinquency rate of less than 6% percent. A new Senior Loan Closing Specialist has been recruited.

Housing:Mutual Self Help Housing grantees are struggling with the availability of home construction funding, USDA Rural Development Section 502. Still, combined the 47 grantees produced 452 new construction homes and 52 homes were rehabilitated.The Housing Counseling program provided training both online and in person. 48 online training courses educated 708 attendees and 12 in person training courses educated 122 attendees. Staff continues to support 14 local housing counseling organizations with HUD funding and technical assistance. Development Solutions continues to work with non-profits in Hawaii, Montana, Utah, California, Guam, Oregon and Washington to assist them in building housing development and operational capacity.The Homeownership Program continued to support USDA Rural Developments Section 502 Direct mortgage loan program through training, intermediary processing services and general promotion to underserved communities of color. 188 Section 502 loan packagers received the five-day training. Staff also processed 316 loan processes submitted by local packagers. Five Washington homeownership organizations received technical development assistance with funding from the State.The Community Resilience and Disaster Planning program (formerly Disaster Recovery Services). Staff continues to assist in the Camp Fire recovery in Butte County, California, assisting them with mitigation planning and implementation to reduce future wildfire risk. They also are completing a wildfire recovery plan in New Mexico and are commencing a Hazard Mitigation Plan revision for a tribe in Northern California.