USDA agreement signed to support Countryman Estates

Representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) visited the West Tuality Habitat offices in August to sign the grant agreement for our work managing the construction and family services for our  Countryman Estates project in Forest Grove, which will provide affordable housing to eight families.

Drew Davis, State Director for USDA, and Ken Williams, Single Family Homes (SFH) State Specialist from USDA’s Oregon State Office of Rural Development, were on hand to formalize the agreement, along with West Tuality Habitat’s Executive Director, Virginia Ohler and Construction Manager Brian Martin.

This is a Section 523 Technical Assistance (TA) Grant, a USDA program that provides financial assistance to qualified nonprofits and public bodies to help low-income individuals and families build their own homes in rural areas. The grants can be used to cover the costs of developing, administering and coordinating programs that provide technical and supervisory assistance to the families. This includes paying for salaries, rent, and office expenses for a nonprofit organization such as West Tuality Habitat for Humanity. Section 523 grants help experienced, non-profit developers such as West Tuality Habitat provide training, supervision, and technical assistance to Self-Help Housing families. The Self-Help Housing program is exclusively targeted to low-income families who are otherwise unable to access decent, clean, and safe housing. Self-Help Housing is the only federal program that combines “sweat equity” homeownership opportunities with technical assistance and affordable loans for America’s rural families (you can read more about sweat equity in English, o lee más sobre “sweat equity” en español). There is more information about Section 523 Mutual Self-Help Housing from the National Rural Housing Coalition (NRHC) web page.

West Tuality Habitat is also supported financially by other grants, by donations from hundreds of individuals, by various fundraising events and by sales from the Forest Grove ReStore.

Once finished, Countryman Estates will consist of eight homes supported by West Tuality Habitat: two single-story, fully-accessible units and six townhomes, each with three or four bedrooms and two full baths, as well as all appliances and fully-accessible ground floor living spaces and bedrooms. Participating families will help build their own and their neighbors’ homes, utilizing their sweat equity to help reduce the costs of their homes.  Construction is expected to begin by the end of 2024.

Countryman estates is named in honor of Bruce Countryman, who has been the Habitat affiliate’s volunteer construction manager for six of his 13 years volunteering with the organization.

West Tuality Habitat also built Kidd Corner, a project with seven homes, adjacent to Countryman Estates. Kidd Corner is named in honor of former Forest Grove mayor and long-time Habitat supporter Richard Kidd. The local Habitat affiliate also completed a five-home development called Coopers Corner, at 19th Avenue and Oak Street near the Tuality Forest Grove Hospital. That subdivision was named for one of the chapter's founding members, the late Glenn Cooper.

For over 30 years, West Tuality Habitat for Humanity in Forest Grove has worked with local families, volunteers, and partners in western Washington County to build homes with affordable mortgages and make critical repairs. Their work has proven critical to combatting the state’s affordable housing crisis by enabling more Oregonians to live in affordable and safe homes. 

A Habitat home owners' mortgage, including mortgage payment, taxes, insurance and homeowners association fees, if applicable, will not exceed 30% of that family's gross monthly income at the time of sale. Habitat for Humanity often works to reach underserved communities specifically regarding affordable housing, and recognizes that a structure of intentional and systemic racial discrimination in the USA has created barriers to homeownership for many families. Individuals and families accepted into the Habitat home ownership program perform sweat equity as a part of this program, working at the construction sites or in the Forest Grove ReStore. Participants also complete financial literacy training and homebuyer counseling, which helps to ensure long-time success as new homeowners.

Habitat houses are built primarily by volunteers. For West Tuality Habitat, there is a core group of volunteers with advanced construction skills who work at least three days a week on Habitat projects in Western Washington County. These core volunteers are regularly joined in the work by families that have qualified for home ownership through Habitat, as well as volunteers from the community, including employees volunteering through their work places, such as Intel, Lowe's, Wells Fargo, Heritage Bank, US Bank, Parr Lumber and more, as well as students from area colleges and universities. These additional volunteers often have no construction experience at all. Companies such as Lowe's and Malarkey Roofing in Portland provide building materials at discount prices and sometimes donate materials as well. Particularly specialized construction tasks requiring special contractors, including electrical, plumbing and roofing, are contracted out.

Homes built by Habitat meet all local building code requirements. Particularly specialized work like wiring, plumbing and roofing is contracted out.

West Tuality Habitat for Humanity is a local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International and was formed in 1991. In addition to the affordable housing program, West Tuality Habitat also has a critical home repair program for low-income seniors, military veterans, and people with disabilities, allowing them to remain in their homes and age in place. West Tuality Habitat also operates a ReStore in Forest Grove, selling gently-used, donated furniture, appliances, home furnishings and leftover building supplies. These sales help fund its Habitat activities in the area. 

For more information about donating financially, volunteering or applying to be a program participant, visit the West Tuality Habitat for Humanity web site at www.westtualityhabitat.org or call (503) 359-8459. There is also information available at the Forest Grove ReStore at 3731 Pacific Avenue.