Tuesday, April 5, 2016

New homes will build stronger families, brighter futures

Access to a safe home is critical to make people feel secure.  It improves health and raises hope for a prosperous future. I have seen the way homeownership can positively affect a family, including children who have a secure environment. That’s why I am so proud of our New Home Construction Program. It is improving lives of our Cherokee people family by family and home by home.

Recently, in the community of Vian in Sequoyah County, we announced plans to build 30 new homes. This will help 30 Cherokee families become new or first-time homeowners. That will be a monumental achievement for them and it will improve their quality of life, as well as be a boon for local Cherokee builders and contractors. Additionally, every child living within the new homes will take approximately $2,800 in impact aid to the local school system.

The three-bedroom homes in Vian will be about 1,200 square feet each. The housing addition is being built on property owned by Cherokee Nation Businesses and will eventually transfer to the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation. CNB will also manage the construction effort. Part of our mission at Cherokee Nation Businesses is to provide economic development and employment opportunities to Cherokee citizens. This project allows us to achieve both of those goals.

Home recipients will be selected from the waiting list of new home construction applicants who do not own land. It fills a dire need within our tribe, as we have heard from hundreds of Cherokees who need help with a home but do not have the land available to them.

We restarted the Cherokee Nation’s New Home Construction Program in 2012 to help Cherokee families. It is a program that historically is second to none across Indian Country. This program empowers our families, so reestablishing an avenue for Cherokees to become homeowners was one of my earliest goals. Tribal citizens who want and need the tribe’s help to become homeowners should be assisted.

To date, Cherokee Nation has built 343 homes and has more than 300 new homes in various stages of construction throughout the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction. We will soon be creating housing additions in Adair, Cherokee, Craig and Delaware counties. This program is so special because it helps our citizens achieve the American dream, creates economic opportunities and strengthens families.

Good government makes improving the lives of its people and future generations the priority. The new home opportunities play a critical role in making sure the Cherokee Nation government is fulfilling that obligation.

We will continue to focus on ways to make real and lasting impacts in the lives of Cherokees.


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