Affordable Housing Seminar a learning experience
Along with two others from Iroquois and a representative of BASEC from Yale, I attended the Housing Seminar in Howard on February 19. We started off the evening with a delicious meal and then moved into a presentation from the Rural Learning Center in Howard. That Center is studying rural ways of living and in particular for this seminar, the need to re-think rural housing.The next section of the seminar focused on agencies and people who are available to help with housing needs in our area. Represented were USDA Rural Development, Iroquois Housing, BASEC of Yale, SD, Rural Learning Center of Howard, HUD (Housing and Urban Development), SDHDA (South Dakota Housing Development Authority), NESDCAP (Northeast South Dakota Community Action Project)and the planning districts were also mentioned as resources. Each agency spoke briefly on progams available from them. The programs available are too long to list here but are extensive from fix-up projects to new homes with attractive loan rates. If you have housing needs contact any of these agencies or Iroquois Housing and we’ll try to help steer you in the right direction. I have contact information for the agencies listed. This seminar was a prime example of a word we’ve heard many times since beginning our Horizons study, “networking”. Here we had the chance to talk to people in charge of administering programs as well as talk to people from other towns in our area who all have the exact concerns we here in Iroquois do; how do we expand affordable housing to all who wish it? The ideas were many, the problems are many, but none are so overwhelming that the hurdles cannot be overcome. Let’s all keep working together to make rural South Dakota a great place to live!