USDA, HUD Honor Housing Works

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development’s National Administrator for Housing and Community Facilities, Tammye Trevino, were recently in Redmond to present an award to Housing Works, the housing authority for Central Oregon, for its achievements in providing quality, affordable housing that strengthens communities in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Planning Grants Field Director Doug Carlson co-presented the award.

Housing Works obtains public funding from federal, state and local governments and leverages these funds with private capital from local financial institutions and foundations to provide quality housing that meets communities’ needs.

“We open the door to affordable housing opportunities for those who have been locked out, and USDA and HUD are significant partners in that work,” said Tom Kemper, executive director of Housing Works. USDA loans and HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher program help moderate and low-income families transition from renter to homeowner status by utilizing a portion of their monthly vouchers toward their mortgage payments.