The Central Savannah River Area Enterprise Community, Inc. (CSRA EC, Inc) developed a new focus in calendar year 2003. After struggling for the past year with limited funds and administratively working with a part-time, acting director, the CSRA EC, Inc. executive committee voted to turn most of its remaining resources to its defined need of housing. In the Bylaws of the CSRA EC, Inc., Article 9, Section 3., the Housing committee is charged with the purpose: “This committee will devise strategies and plans for ensuring that all citizens have access to quality low and moderate income affordable housing, financing for home ownership and housing rehabilitation to ensure adequate health, weatherization, and safety standards.”

In August 2003, the CSRA EC, Inc. hired a housing consultant. It was determined that the most workable structure for the organization was to become a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO). Application was made to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs with the Housing Committee of the CSRA EC, Inc. reactivated to develop strategies and through which to make housing decisions. CHDO status officially was given on December 2, 2003.

In the Fall 2003, an application was submitted to USDA for the Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) in the amount of $50,000 to prepare housing feasibility studies and to provide grant writing service for CSRA EC Inc. cities and counties in our region. Nine local governments and the CSRA EC, Inc. pledged their support to create and develop housing and community development programs, Burke, Hancock, Jefferson, McDuffie, Taliaferro, and Warren Counties, and Louisville, Thomson, and Waynesboro. This application was submitted at the end of October 2003, and is yet pending approval.

Another grant application was completed, the Home Again program, submitted to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs at the end of January 2004. Working with the City of Louisville in Jefferson County, funds were requested to build four new homes.

Other than this new direction in housing, programs and services in the CSRA EC, Inc. communities have been the responsibility of the local boards and their local governments. The CSRA Enterprise Community is comprised of 10 census tracts in a six county area. We have a total of nine Human Development Centers (HDC); a center located in each census tract with one center designated for two census tracts.

In the HDC’s, we provide services such as GED classes, computer classes, after school tutoring, resource mothers, life learning skills and customer service skills. The challenge of day to day operations and management of the HDC’s for the majority of the local governments is too much. Although the local governments were to provide the funding for the HDC’s, many have closed for their original purpose and are kept open with such programs as the Family Connection.

With the new focus of the CSRA EC, Inc. to devote its resources to decent and affordable housing new vitality has been injected into the organization from which to assist its low to moderate income citizens in the enterprise community.

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