 |
Home | En Español | Contact Us | A to Z |
 |
 | |||||
|
Can You Believe That Pennies Are Falling... |
![[Photo 1: Hand holding pennies]](2003-04-10a.jpg) |
| Pennies found in an automobile to pay for a shirt in the Community Fund Exchange. |
![[Photo 2: Stilley and Lambert reviewing building plans]](2003-04-10b.jpg) |
| Gail Stilley, Executive Director of Harts CDC, Inc., looks over building plans with David Lambert, Project Manager |
Harts Community Development Inc., was created to improve the quality of housing in three southern West Virginia counties. The non-profit board of directors, members and staff believe their community is wholesome when housing is safe, decent and affordable. They offer job skill training in residential construction for unemployed residents, and assist families in securing mortgages and loan products with various down payment assistance and closing costs. Gail Stilley, Executive Director of Harts Community Development, makes sure the families receive full homebuyer education and housing counseling, including budget and credit counseling before obtaining a home. The Project Manager, David Lambert, manages all projects and a five-member construction crew.
They require the approved home recipient to assist families less fortunate in the "Pennies From Heaven" stockroom. The stockroom was established with donated clothing, whereby residents could stop in and find a pair of trousers in the "pants" room, a coat in the "coat" room, or some clothing for children. There are no prices on these items. Residents just pay whatever they have in their pockets or pennies they may find in their automobiles. Any proceeds are added to the construction funds for homes.
The per capita income in Lincoln County is approximately $15,000, with 63 percent renters who are unable to afford a two-bedroom family home without some assistance. Many homes are in substandard condition, and the average age of the housing stock is 1969. Harts Community Development is a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO). They utilize an array of loan products available for low-income families, such as HUD HOME program, USDA 502 program, West Virginia Housing Development Fund LAMP program, Neighborhood Reinvestment Loan resources and AppalBanc CDFI funding.
If you would like more information on any of their programs, please contact them at P. O. Box 456, 1 Ward Avenue, Harts, WV 25524; by telephone at (304) 855-9480, by fax at (304) 855-2015, or at hartscomdev@hotmail.com.
Content Archived: March 21, 2011
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
 |
|  |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
![[logo: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity]](/images/fheo50.gif){kind=small}