Erendira Garcia opened the doors to her new four-bedroom home in Jerome on Thursday, Sept. 10, marking the end of a two-year construction project built with family and neighbor assistance.
Garcia’s achievement highlights the ongoing work of the Self-Help Housing Program, an initiative run by the South Central Community Action Partnership that has helped nearly 600 families across the Magic Valley build affordable homes since 1988. The program relies on federal grants for rural communities and requires participants to contribute 25 percent of their own labor, known as sweat equity, toward construction.
Shalynn Kellogg, a representative for the partnership, discussed the program’s role in addressing local housing challenges during a presentation in Twin Falls that same day. She noted that the housing environment has shifted significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by rising material and land costs. These increases have made homeownership difficult for many residents, forcing them into rental markets where rent consumes a large portion of household income.
“We need to look at some sort of controls over the cost of rents,” Kellogg said.
Data supports the urgency of such interventions. A housing analysis by Boise State University found that the number of burdened and severely burdened households has risen in Twin Falls, Jerome, Camas, Wooding, and Minidoka counties since 2000. The Self-Help Housing Program offers a pathway out of this cycle by providing approved applicants with loan interest rates as low as 4 percent.
Garcia’s journey to homeownership was not immediate. She faced rejection from multiple affordable housing programs before being accepted into the Self-Help initiative. Her experience underscores the competitive nature of available resources; Kellogg reported that more than 300 people are currently on the program’s waitlist.
Beyond financial assistance, the program fosters community bonds as participants work side-by-side to construct their homes. Some graduates have even leveraged their construction experience to enter jobs in the building trades. For those who cannot participate in the homeownership track, the organization also provides rental assistance for individuals struggling to afford food or housing.
Garcia urged others facing similar hurdles to remain persistent. “Don’t give up. Keep going at it. Keep applying,” she said.
The program’s success in Jerome and surrounding areas offers a model for rural housing development that emphasizes personal investment and community support. As demand remains high, the South Central Community Action Partnership continues to process applications while managing a substantial backlog of interested families.