"Heather Colley and her two children moved four times over five years as they fled high rents in eastern Tennessee, which, like much of rural America, hasn't been spared from soaring housing costs. A family gift in 2021 of a small plot of land offered a shot at homeownership, but building a house was beyond reach for the 45-year-old single mother and manicurist making $18.50 an hour."
"Now, President Donald Trump wants to eliminate that grant, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, and House Republicans overseeing federal budget negotiations did not include funding for it in their budget proposal. Experts and state housing agencies say that would set back tens of thousands of future affordable housing developments nationwide, particularly hurting Appalachian towns and rural counties where government aid is sparse and investors are few."
"The program has helped build or repair more than 1.3 million affordable homes in the last three decades, of which at least 540,000 were in congressional districts that are rural or significantly rural, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data. "Maybe they don't realize how far-reaching these programs are," said Colley, who voted for Trump in 2024. Among those half a million homes that HOME helped build, 84% were in districts that voted for him last year, the AP analysis found."
Heather Colley, a 45-year-old single mother and manicurist in eastern Tennessee, moved four times in five years because of rising rents. A 2021 family gift of a small plot of land enabled a shot at homeownership, and a $272,000 nonprofit grant through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program funded a three-bedroom house. The HOME program, created in the 1990s, has helped build or repair more than 1.3 million affordable homes over three decades, including at least 540,000 in rural or significantly rural congressional districts. Proposed federal budget changes would eliminate HOME funding, threatening tens of thousands of future rural affordable housing projects.
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