HUD Volunteer Blitz Building Homes on Indian Reservation

[jsilver at essential.org]

Dear Friends:


The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is organizing a blitz
to build 50 homes in one week using 1,000 volunteers on the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation in South Dakato from July 30 to August 7, 1999.

Show off your building skills; take a volunteer-vacation! All skill levels
welcome and needed.

For more information, call 1-888-3VOLUNTEER or visit
www.hud.gov/sharedvisions.html.


Josh Silver
National Community Reinvestment Coalition


Spread the word to your friends and colleagues!




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[rothneyr at assiniboine.m]

Can someone explain why outsiders are being asked to go in en masse to help
build homes for local people; particularly in a Native American community
famous as a focal point for severe struggles for the right to independence
and self-reliance and with a history of high local unemployment? Is this
community development?

A few years ago, here in Winnipeg it was very sad to watch a Jimmy Carter /
Habitat housing blitz turn into a circus of hundreds of well-meaning,
white suburbanites turning up to "help" build houses in one of the most
economically ravaged parts of our inner-city where about 3/4 of the
population are Aboriginal (Native American). (In that case the
unintentional farce was particularly blatant as the new homes were built in
a fenced-off enclave across the street from a large public housing complex
populated almost entirely by "welfare" recipients who, because they were
not "working" poor (i.e. not in paid employment), were not eligible to
apply for the nice looking new houses across the street.) In contrast, the
resident-based, inner-city neighbourhood revitalization movement in
Winnipeg is now integrating housing renovations with local training and
employment opportunities and working hard to establish a sense of pride
through self-accomplishment. At our credit union we also are helping to
spear-head efforts to get the Canada Mortgage and Housing Renewal
Corporation (partially parallel to HUD) to get rid of policies which
discriminate against social assistance recipients and "working poor"
households seeking home ownership, and to lower the downpayment requirement
for CMHC underwriting for non-profit housing groups from 25% to the 15%
required of private developers.

Russ Rothney: Manager, Community Economic Development
Assiniboine Credit Union, 200 Main St., Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3C 2G1
Ph.(204)958-8756. Fax(204)942-3549 <rothneyr@assiniboine.mb.ca>
http://www.assiniboine.mb.ca





Josh Silver <jsilver@essential.org> on 05/02/99 09:40:46 AM

Please respond to jsilver@essential.org

To: Community Development Banking
<COMMUNITYDEVELOPMENTBANKING-L@cornell.edu>
cc: (bcc: Russ Rothney/Assiniboine Credit Union)
Subject: HUD Volunteer Blitz Building Homes on Indian Reservation




Dear Friends:


The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is organizing a blitz
to build 50 homes in one week using 1,000 volunteers on the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation in South Dakato from July 30 to August 7, 1999.

Show off your building skills; take a volunteer-vacation! All skill levels
welcome and needed.

For more information, call 1-888-3VOLUNTEER or visit
www.hud.gov/sharedvisions.html.


Josh Silver
National Community Reinvestment Coalition


Spread the word to your friends and colleagues!










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