If you couldn't afford your own home, what would you be willing to do to get one? Would you give up your weekends, and spend every spare minute for a year - on top of your regular job - building it? Would you work in the rain, in the sleet, in the cold? What if you barely knew one end of a hammer from another?

In over two decades, more than 900 families have built their own homes through KCCHA's Mutual Self Help program.

Debra, a 45-year-old single mom, was determined to be one of them. "I heard of the program a long time ago when I was on welfare, living in public housing, and getting my degree. But even after I graduated and started my job, I really didn't have enough confidence in myself to do it."

Funded by USDA-Rural Development, KCCHA's Mutual Self Help Housing program leads groups of usually nine to ten qualified families step by step through the homebuilding process. The group works together as a team on all the houses, putting in at least 30 hours per week per family, in addition to their regular jobs. No family moves in until all the homes are complete.

Debra's doubts about herself finally gave way to her desire for her own home. So she applied, and a year later, she got a call that a new Self Help development was slated to start in Poulsbo. She filled out all the paperwork and waited for the answer.

But when Self Help Group Coordinator Melinda Suhr called five days later, the news wasn't good. Debra's income was too low to qualify for the government's 1% loan, even with the highest subsidy allowed.

Even so, Suhr offered to get all Debra's paperwork together and walk her through the calculations in person, just in case there was something that she overlooked. But when Suhr put the numbers in the computer, the debt-to-income ratio just didn't work.

This is an Equal Opportunity Program.
Discrimination is prohibited by Federal Law.
Complaints of discrimination may be filed with the Administrator, RHCDS, USDA, Washington, DC 20250-0700