Success Stories


  • Agua4All program expands to schools and Tribes across California

    More than one million Californians lack access to safe drinking water, a startling statistic in a state with the fifth largest economy in the world. For these Californians—of which one in three is Hispanic and nearly half are adults diagnosed as pre-diabetic—the only alternatives to unsafe water are expensive bottled water or sugary drinks.

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  • Housing counseling training supports counselors, first-time homebuyers

    In 2006, just as the nation’s housing market was overheating and would eventually implode, Melissa Looney watched how prospective homeowners learned about mortgages. A decade prior she had started her housing career working as a mortgage technician. Something about the home buying process, she recalls, wasn’t right.

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  • BRE helps Hatch launch farmers, artisans market

    Hatch, New Mexico – While driving across southern New Mexico, you could easily believe you were traversing the moon. Despite Interstate 25 that bisects the state from north to south, the desert landscape appears mostly untouched and unpeopled. Some gas stations still maintain pumps with antiquated rotating meters. For long stretches, other cars are few and far between.

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  • Housing counseling helps build financial stability

    Erin and Sally Simpson*, like so many of us, were hearing wise advice from every corner, from television pundits to radio personalities to lifestyle magazines: eat well, avoid fast food, stay healthy. Late last year however, they noticed that their household budget was taking a hit. The Simpsons had hoped to buy a house but discovered that they didn’t have enough savings. They were baffled. They did not feel financially strapped. But they were also unable to save in general.

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  • The Kiyunas

    Keola and Rena Kiyuna came to the Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation (HICDC) in 2003 after seeing an ad in the paper for an upcoming project. At that time, Rena learned that a co-worker had built her home through HICDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s self-help program, and she was intrigued.

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