MUTUAL SELF HELP HOME BUILDING HAS EXPANDED!

360-452-7631 ext 302

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

There are openings in the self-help group forming in Port Angeles and in Forks.

Complete the intake application and contact Annie O’Rourke  for an appointment, or call 360-452-7631 extension 301

Self Help Intake Form

What’s New?

Agencies collaborate on housing for Forks woman

 

PRESS RELEASE
Nov 22, 2020

FORKS — Even during a pandemic great things can happen when organizations team up to benefit others, according to Priscilla Leffler, Mutual Self Help Coordinator of the Peninsula Housing Authority.

Lana Sampson of Forks set out on a mission to provide a home for herself and her children, Leffler said.
She contacted the Peninsula Housing Authority (PHA) and inquired about the Mutual Self-Help Program.

Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County (HFHCC) also had been in communication with PHA regarding a home it had in Forks that had been built in 2016 and had become vacant.

Through the collaboration of Peninsula Housing Authority and Habitat for Humanity, and with funding from a USDA Rural Development no-down payment, low-interest loan, Sampson was able to purchase the home.

New homeowner Lana Sampson poses with Colleen Robinson from HHCC.

Sampson will join five other families in Forks using the mutual self-help method which requires families to dedicate time every week constructing each other’s homes.

“These families will soon realize their dreams of homeownership and creating a neighborhood,” Leffler said.
“With the goal of ensuring affordable housing inventory in the Forks Community, PHA and HFHCC worked together to make homeownership become a reality.”

 

Five Forks families building homes through Mutual Self Help program

PRESS RELEASE
Aug 17, 2020

Five families have broken ground for new homes in Forks through the Peninsula Housing Authority.

This will be the first Mutual Self-Help build group to construct homes in Forks, the housing authority said in a press release.
On July 23, these families closed their construction loans with assistance from Peninsula Housing Authority’s Mutual Self-Help Program supported by funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

“The path from application to closing took years and these folks overcame some major hurdles on their individual journeys,” the press release said. “They waited patiently to finally see their dream of homeownership become reality.”
Constructing these five homes using the mutual self-help method requires each family to dedicate 32 hours a week working on each other’s houses.

The result will be five three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-family residences with garages.
All participants are transitioning from renting in Forks to homeownership.

 

 

 

Ten families building a neighborhood in Port Angeles

PRESS RELEASE
Oct 27, 2019

PORT ANGELES — Ten families will soon embark on a community build on West 11th Street in Port Angeles.
They aren’t just building homes, they are building a neighborhood.
Everyone involved attended the Mutual Self Help groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday.

This program, which helps working families achieve their goal of home-ownership, is a sweat equity program sponsored by the Peninsula Housing Authority (PHA).
Next year at this time these families hope to be living in 10 brand new homes that they will construct on adjacent lots in the 1700 and 1800 blocks of West 11th Street.

Each family had to meet certain income and credit requirements to be approved for this build, said Priscilla Leffler, coordinator of the program.

The lots are cleared and work will begin soon after permits are issued.

All 10 families will build together under the guidance of a construction supervisor provided by PHA.

In keeping with the theme of building a neighborhood, no one will move in until all of the homes are completed, Leffler said.

The families will work side by side, each contributing 32 hours a week to creating their community.

“This will be an environment where everyone will know their neighbors, and all of the children know each other as well,” Leffler said.
To date the PHA has assisted in the construction of over 100 homes in Clallam and Jefferson counties.

 

 

W 15th Groundbreaking Ceremony

The Peninsula Housing Authority recently celebrated the Ground Breaking for 8 new homes on W 15th between K and M Street in Port Angeles.

This group of homes is being built by families under the Mutual Self Help Program. Instead of a down payment, families promise to put in 32 hours a week working on their home, and their neighbor’s homes, until all 8 homes are completed.  These hours are in addition to their regular jobs and caring for their families.  They commit to working every week, no matter what the weather does (or what holidays fall in that week.)  Friends, extended families, and community volunteers can help with up to 16 hours per week, reducing the family’s hours to a minimum of 16 hours.

The families in the program represent a cross-section of the community: young families, senior citizens, and families with no children as well as single-parent households.  There are health care workers, artists, social workers, educators, construction workers, service industry workers, and some with disabilities. These families all have one thing in common; they have a dream to own their own home.  Through hard work, they will bring this dream into reality.

The Peninsula Housing Authority appreciates support from our community in the form of volunteers and the financial support of:

  • USDA/Rural Development (RD) 523 Technical Assistance grant funds to pay for staff, equipment, and administration of the program and RD502 Direct loans to homeowners to cover lot and construction costs.
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development SHOP funds through Community Frameworks to purchase the land.
  • Port Angeles Association of Realtors for down payment assistance for the families.
  • RCAC, Rural Community Assistance Corporation, for their technical assistance.

Casey Groff, construction supervisor, is excited to dig in with these families and get started on this group of homes.

Peninsula Housing Authority has previously sponsored a total of 93 homes through the Mutual Self Help program. The program utilizes the concept that working together, families can build homes, similar to an old fashioned barn-raising.  Our Construction Supervisor provides guidance and instruction on the use of tools and construction techniques and ensures that the homes are built to code and pass all inspections.

The Mutual Self Help Housing Program is accepting applications for future home builders.  There are current openings for families in the next group in Port Angeles and for a group forming in Forks.  Peninsula Housing Authority provides pre-purchase counseling, education, and credit repair.

For more information, contact Priscilla Leffler at Peninsula Housing Authority, 360-452-7631 extension *822 or email pleffler@peninsulapha.org.

RCAC Self Help Success stories: http://www.rcac.org/success-stories/women-find-opportunity-hope-in-self-help-housing-program/

SWEAT EQUITY OPPORTUNITIES

Mutual Self-Help Home Building Mutual Self-Help Home Building Mutual Self-Help Home Building

What it is:

An opportunity for low and very low-income families to own a home (a new home at that!) through their own work on all of the homes in a building group cooperative.  You put in 32 hours a week, (and so does everyone else) working on all of the homes.  In the end, you all have a home and a neighborhood where you know everyone before you even move in.

I didn’t know that! (brochure 2021)

Application Process:

Complete the intake application and contact Doni Thomason dthomason@peninsulapha.org for an appointment, or call 360-452-7631 extension *302.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Volunteers are encouraged to help with construction.  Please contact Doni for volunteer information.

Who to Contact: Doni Thomason dthomason@peninsulapha.org

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH…

logo_collage

Peninsula Housing Authority takes situations involving fraud very seriously.  Applicants or tenants who knowingly misrepresent or do not provide accurate income related to eligibility, including income, preference information for admission, expenses, family composition or rent may be at risk of losing assistance.

Peninsula Housing Authority
Announcements

Seeking Self-Help Applicants –

Self-Help Intake Form (Updated Feb. 2024)
____________________________

Jefferson County Ten Year Homelessness Plan

Clallam County Ten Year Homelessness Plan

____________________________

Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Project Information

____________________________

Invitations for Bids / Employment Opportunities

STRATEGIC PLAN 2018-2023

5 Year Plan FY 2021-2026

FY 2024 Annual Plan

FY 2025 Drafted Annual Plan

____________________________

Job Openings

Click Here for Information

____________________________

Invitation to Bid

Click Here for Information

 


Regular Business Hours

Monday
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM & 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Tuesday (Most)
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Third Tuesday of Each Month
Closed

Wednesday
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Thursday
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Friday (Most)
9:00 AM – Noon
First Friday of Each Month
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Please note we are closed daily from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM

Email:
Info@peninsulapha.org

Contact Us


 

equal-housing EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY Barrier Free BARRIER FREE
The Peninsula Housing Authority does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, age, color, national origin, religion, familial status, marital status, sex, honorably discharged veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability in admission or access to its programs. If you need a reasonable accommodation, contact the PHA at (360) 452-7631.

Home | About Us | Links/Resources | Contact

Copyright © 2013 Peninsula Housing Authority. All Rights Reserved.