Rural Housing and Economic Development 1999 Grants

PROJECT SUMMARY: CALIFORNIA

The Bishop Indian Tribal Council in Bishop, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $88,201. The applicant will utilize the funds to strengthen its organizational capacity in order to implement the Bishop Paiute Revolving Loan Program. With this and other funding sources, the Tribe, in consort with several partners, will undertake a comprehensive business development and job creation program that will create or expand 15 businesses and result in the creation or retention of 75 jobs. This program will serve residents of the Bishop Indian Reservation. In-kind leveraging resources supporting this program total almost $254,000. Key participants include: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, the Owens Valley Career Development Center, the Inyo County Department of Social Services, and the California Indian Manpower Consortium.

Contact Person: Mark D. Webb
Grantee Address: P.O. Box 1026 Bishop, CA 93514
Phone Number: (760) 872-5000

The Coachella Valley Housing Coalition, in Indio, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $600,000. The applicant requested $1,000,000 to develop a 100 space mobile home park in Mecca, California. Mecca is within a designated Rural Empowerment Zone and is also a Colonia. The proposed park will provide a safe, affordable housing alternative to tenants, almost all of whom are farmworkers. This program will serve Mecca, the Coachella Valley, and Riverside County, California. In-kind leveraging and financing resources total $1,850,000 in support of this program. Key participants include: the Riverside County Economic and Community Development Offices, the Desert Communities Empowerment Zone, and the state Farmworker Housing Grant Program.

Contact Person: John F. Mealey, Executive Director
Grantee Address: 45-701 Monroe St., Ste. G, Indio, CA 92201
Phone Number: (760) 347-3157

The Coachella Valley Housing Coalition will also receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $200,000 to fund a full time housing counselor position and other staff for a three year period who will directly assist mobile home park tenants - most of which are migrant farmworkers. This counselor will also assist other low income persons and will offer credit, debt, and financial management counseling in addition to housing counseling. Out of the 240 families the applicant expects to serve, about 70 will purchase homes. This program will serve the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California. In-kind leveraging and financing resources total $71,000 in support of this program. Key participants include: the Rural Community Housing Assistance Corporation, the Union Bank, and the use of a grant from the Department of Labor.

The Yurok Tribe, in Eureka, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $200,000. The grant will provide three years' funding for a General Manager and a Support Specialist for the newly established Yurok Tribal Development Enterprise in order to establish accounting and personnel procedures for the Development Enterprise and to manage the Tribe's top economic development priority, the Yurok/Redwood Parks Destination Lodge. In addition, the General Manager and the Support Specialist will research and initiate business ventures, write business plans, recruit businesses, and market products, as well as provide suitable technical assistance and skills training tailored for individual tribal entrepreneurs. This program will serve Del Norte and Humboldt Counties.

Contact Person: Sef Murguia
Grantee Address: 1034 Sixth Street, Eureka, CA 95501
Phone Number: 707-444-0433

The Coyote Valley Tribe, in Redwood, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $32,345. The Coyote Valley Tribe desires control of a four acre parcel to provide additional Reservation land for the Tribe's housing development needs. The Tribe will use the grant to complete a fee to trust transfer application for approval by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a 4 acre parcel. This program will serve Redwood Valley, Mendocino, Sonoma and Lake Counties, and Coyote Valley Reservation. In-kind leveraging resources total $8,707 in support of this program.

Contact Person: Priscilla Hunter
Grantee Address: 7751 N. State Street, P.O. Box 39, Redwood Valley, CA, 95470
Phone Number: 707-485-8723

Community Housing Improvement Program, Inc., in Chico, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $451,397. A 40-unit rental and home ownership development for farm workers and other low-income households will be built in Orland, California. Program participants will receive on-site financial counseling, homebuyer training, on-going homeowner education, as well as medical and other social services. In-kind leveraging resources total $10,000,000 in support of this program. Key partners include: Community Housing and Credit Counseling Center, Butte County, CA Human Development Corporation, Del Norte Clinics, Hispanic Resource Council, Woman's Advocates, Inc., the E Center, and Catalyst.

Contact Person: David Ferrier, Executive Director
Grantee Address: 1001 Willow Street, Chico, CA 95928
Phone Number: 530-891-6931

Peoples' Self-Help Corporation, in Guadalupe, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $500,000. The applicant proposes to build 50 new homeownership units for large farmworker families and 80 additional units. They will also rehabilitate 20 substandard units and create a 10,000 square foot community resource center. This center will provide childcare, job training, adult education, micro-business development, and other services. This program will serve the Guadalupe area. In-kind leveraging and financing resources total $7,272,500 in support of this program. Key participants include: the Wells Fargo Bank, USDA, the National Farm Workers Service Center, Inc., the Center for Employment Training, and other fine organizations.

Contact Person: Jeanette Duncan, Executive Director
Grantee Address: 3533 Empleo Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Phone Number: (805) 781-3088 Ext. 454

I-5 Social Services Corporation, in Mendota, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $509,500 to serve the Mendota area. The applicant is looking to fund preliminary activities toward the development of a rural farmworker community, including project master plan and architectural design, soil and environmental clearance, project financial acquisition services, corporate counsel, accounting services, project market studies, and administration. The applicant is looking to implement the proposal using only these grant funds. Key participants include: the City of Mendota and RM Associates. In kind leveraging and financing resources total $7,000,000.

Contact Person: Alex Valdez, Executive Director
Grantee Address: 260 Greg Court, N, Mendota, CA 93640
Phone Number: (559) 447-9925

South County Housing Corporation, in Gilroy, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $500,000. SCHC will develop and construct an innovative housing project for 96 migrant farm workers in rural Monterey County. A $2.5 million facility located on a 10 acre agricultural-zone parcel, it will offer a combination of housing and services that would otherwise remain unavailable to migrant farm workers in the area. In-kind leveraging resources total $2,019,000 in support of this program. Key partners include: the Center for Community Advocacy, Rural Community Assistance Corporation, The California Endowment, and the Monterey County Health Department.

Contact Person: Andy Lief
Grantee Address: 7455 Carmel Street, Gilroy, CA 95020
Phone Number: 408-842-9181

Rural Communities Housing Development Corporation, in Ukiah, CA, will receive a Rural Housing and Economic Development Grant in the amount of $194,877. An additional staff person will be hired to develop new affordable housing units for farmworkers. Duties will include site search, site procurement, financial analysis, feasibility studies, and community outreach. Also housing and community development consultants will be procured as needed to provide assistance. This program will serve Mendocino and Lake Counties, California. In-kind leveraging resources total $26,830 in support of this program. Key partners include: Lake County Health Department, Rural Communities Assistance Corporation, and NeighborWorks Network.

Contact Person: Tom Mon Pere
Grantee Address: 237 East Gobbi Street, Ukiah, CA 95482
Phone Number: 707-463-1975 ext. 12

Content Archived: January 20, 2009