Every year, outstanding affordable housing developments are selected from across the country as finalists in Affordable Housing Finance magazine’s Readers’ Choice Awards. This year’s 36 finalists display the tremendous range of affordable housing being built for families, seniors, farmworkers, veterans, and people with special needs. Amid escalating costs, the projects also help demonstrate the importance of investing in rural communities to help their residents thrive. Chosen from 145 entries, the 2023 finalists are in 18 states. Creekside Terrace is listed alongside three other rural finalists from Cumberland, Maryland, Wisconsin's Lafayette County, and Arcata, California.  

“As a gateway community to a popular national park destination, Mariposa has struggled mightily with the rise of internet-based vacation rentals,” says Tom Collishaw, President and CEO of Self-Help Enterprises. “It has severely constricted its traditional workforce housing opportunities.”  

Creekside Terrace is the first project of its kind to be located in the remote rural community of Mariposa. It tackles the housing shortage caused by short-term rentals in Mariposa, CA by offering 42 affordable housing units. The development also takes aim at rising homelessness in the area by having 11 units reserved for people experiencing homelessness through the No Place Like Home Program. A robust partnership with Mariposa County helps provide extensive supportive services that ensure formerly unhoused residents are successful in their new home at Creekside Terrace. 

When Alma Veronica Ayon received her naturalization certificate on August 14th, she felt relieved because she now had more opportunities to live with her family in the United States after years of uncertainty regarding their residency status.  

"Es una sensación realmente maravillosa saber que aprobé y que todo el tiempo de preparación valió la pena," said Alma. ("It's a really great feeling to know I passed and that all of the time preparing was worth it.”) 

Alma is now one of many others who passed their federal naturalization exam thanks to the help of Teresa and Valeriano Saucedo, who have retired from extensive law careers as an attorney and judge, respectively. They offer weekly citizenship classes at no cost to anyone interested in preparing for their exam to become U.S. citizens. The classes are held at the Palm Terrace community center on Tuesday evenings to ensure students can participate outside work hours.  

SHE's Resident Services has partnered with the Saucedo's for several years to help provide hundreds of residents in Lindsay and the surrounding area with a safe space to have bilingual courses in U.S. civics, history, and government knowledge needed to pass their exams. They have a 100% success rate for students who take their course and then go on to have their citizenship interview. Read more

SHE’s Vera Cruz Village is now featured in a case study book series, Designing for Zero Carbon, from CalBEM. Since it opened in 1996, the rental community has offered low-income residents and farm workers affordable housing in Richgrove. In 2022, Vera Cruz Village converted to become an all-electric community as part of SHE’s climate action goals which was motivated by the opportunity to lower utility bills for residents. 

The improvements were made possible through pilot studies and energy programs from the State of California Association for Energy Affordability (AEA) and the California Energy Commission (CEC). The case study details an expansive look into the retrofit project that adopted sustainable designs while allowing its residents to remain in their homes with minimal disruption. Read the full study here.  

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