Self-Help Enterprises

Join us for our next Summer Night Lights event in Tulare!

Free food, games, and family fun! Everyone's invited!

Don't miss out on this fantastic event! Let's make this summer one to remember. See you there! 🌞👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

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👷‍♂️🧑‍💻Join our team! Self-Help Enterprises offers an exciting work environment where you can apply your high-caliber skills to a true career opportunity and impact the world around you!

Check out our website to learn more about these exciting new roles, including:
📌 Disaster Resiliency Specialist
📌 Project Manager Construction
📌 Afterschool Coordinator
📌 Administrative Analyst – Strategic Partnerships
📌 Loan Processor-Housing Rehabilitation
📌 Construction Superintendent

🧑‍💻https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/get-involved/ -opportunities

📰Check out our latest blog featuring SHE’s Housing Rehabilitation efforts as we celebrate the achievements and impact of this program. From its start in 1974 to today, we've rehabilitated over 6,900 homes across the San Joaquin Valley, ensuring safe and healthy living conditions for low-income families. Learn more about how we preserve and improve affordable housing through partnerships, funding, and community involvement. Read the full story and see how we're building a better future together!

https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/blog/shes-housing-rehabilitation-achievements-impact/

👏For the fourth time in the last six years, SHE has been recognized by Affordable Housing Finance magazine as a Top 50 developer of low-income housing in the entire country!

📈This time, we’re ranked #38 nationally, our best showing yet and are among only twelve nonprofits to make the list. Self-Help Enterprises is also the only organization to be included that is based in the San Joaquin Valley.

“While we are not in the work of building and sustaining healthy homes and communities for the accolades, it is nonetheless gratifying to be recognized for all of your hard work,” shared Tom Collishaw, SHE's President and CEO. “Other crucial work at SHE may not have similar opportunities to be recognized in this manner, but it is the collective effort of our work that makes a difference in our communities. We share this recognition with all our dedicated staff at SHE.”

👩‍🎓💸This summer, we proudly awarded 16 students with $22,500 in scholarships! The Doris “Do” Dooley Scholarship program is named after SHE’s former Board member and dedicated friend of the organization.

In representation of SHE, members of our leadership and Board Members attended the scholarship ceremonies of some of the new award recipients.

Board Member Tina Sumner celebrated with Nancy Vilchis-Gonzalez from Reedley High School, who received a $1,500 scholarship. Nancy is headed to Berkeley in the fall where she will study Child Psychology.

Eddie Ocampo, SHE’s Director of Community Sustainability, attended Chowchilla High School’s scholarship ceremony where he presented Ava Price with her $1,500 award. Ava is excited to pursue a degree in psychology to become a school counselor.

Best wishes to all our scholarship recipients as they continue their education journey!

📸Check out these new photos of The Lofts at Fort Visalia!

The Lofts was recently recognized as the winner of the 2024 Blueprint Award of Excellence in the category of Downtown Revitalization. Awards were presented at the 17th Annual San Joaquin Valley Policy Conference in Visalia.

The San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Awards program recognizes the outstanding achievements and practices in the built environment that also reflect the Blueprint Principles, visually represented in The Lofts. In collaboration with state, county, and local partners, The Lofts at Fort Visalia represents a successful revitalization of a part of downtown Visalia. It officially opened to the public in December of 2023. Through integrated permanent supportive housing and robust onsite services, the community services both families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

For more information about The Lofts at Fort Visalia, head over to our website: https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/properties/the-lofts-at-fort-visalia/

📸By Lalush Photography

☀ The Fourth of July is almost here, and so is the extreme heat! The San Joaquin Valley is under an extreme heat warning until July 9th, but it could be extended. This Stage 4 Heat Risk means that everyone is at risk for heat-related illnesses, and AC is a must. This heat is very dangerous unless precautions are taken. Stay safe and prepared with these tips:

What it means:
- Extreme risk of heat-related illnesses for the entire population. This prolonged heat event is very dangerous.
- Little to no relief at night. Air conditioning is necessary—fans and open windows at night will not be enough.

Actions to take:
- Drink plenty of water or sports drinks.
- Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing.
- Cancel outdoor activities during the heat of the day.
- Use air conditioning and remain in cool places during the day.

Stay Hydrated:
- Drink plenty of water, even if you’re not thirsty.
- Enjoy sports drinks in moderation to replenish electrolytes.
- Avoid sugary, alcoholic, and very cold drinks.
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

Stay Connected:
- Monitor those at higher risk: infants, young children, seniors, people with chronic illnesses or disabilities, and those who are pregnant.
- Visit heatreadyca.com to assess risk.
- Check on your neighbors, especially the vulnerable, and offer to help with groceries and medications.
- Use a buddy system when working in the heat.

Stay Informed:
- Watch local news for weather updates, heat alerts, and cooling center locations.

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July!

Visit listoscalifornia.org for more tips.

Self-Help Enterprises has partnered with to help spread disaster preparedness tips. For more information visit https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/programs/emergency-services/emergency-preparedness-and-resiliency/

🌟✨ Join us for an unforgettable evening at Self-Help Enterprises' **Summer Night Lights**! 🌟✨

📅 **Date:** June 19th
🕓 **Time:** 3pm - 7pm
📍 **Location:** Self-Help Enterprises

Bring your family and friends for an evening filled with **FREE food, games, and fun activities**! 🍔🎨🎉

Summer Night Lights was created to provide a safe, engaging environment for kids during their summer break. At SHE, we believe in supporting our community by offering events that keep our youth active and safe.

Don't miss out on this fantastic event! Let's make this summer one to remember. See you there! 🌞👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

🏡Want to become a homeowner and build your own home in Fresno? Now is your chance! We still have lots available at our upcoming community in Fresno, CA, between East Annadale Avenue and South Ivy Avenue.

Our Mutual Self-Help Housing Program is available for low-income participants. There are also funding programs available to help keep home payments affordable!

Contact us today to learn how to sign up!
📞(559) 931-2450
📩or email: [email protected]

🤝Self-Help Enterprises and Kaweah Subbasin Groundwater Agencies announce groundbreaking partnership!

Following thirteen months and countless hours of coordination and planning, a first-of-its-kind partnership was solidified between three Kaweah Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) and Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) to expand assistance for rural residents in the Tulare County area who lose water due to lowering groundwater levels.

The adoption of a new Mitigation Program at the June 13th joint Board Meeting of the East Kaweah, Greater Kaweah, and Mid-Kaweah GSAs formalizes a plan to invest up to $5.8 million annually to ensure well users in the GSAs’ service area whose wells go dry receive emergency water supplies. It also ensures a long-term drinking water solution through SHE’s proven water support program!

To access these services, residents can contact SHE by phone at 559-802-1685 or by email at [email protected].

💧The Groundwater Sustainability Agencies of Delta Mendota Subbasin invite you to attend their special meeting on the new, single Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) being proposed for the Subbasin.

We encourage all community members to learn more about the proposed plan, review and leave their comments. Public participation is a vital part of the GSP development process. Spanish translation will be provided.

A full copy of the Plan:
https://deltamendota.org/draft-gsp-documents/

Self-Help Enterprises is assisting the San Luis Delta-Mendota Water Authority (SLDMWA) with the development of an assessment tool.

🍅🍋Thank you to all who helped make this project possible!!🥦🍎🍊

Butterfly Gardens, is the first-ever permanent supportive housing development in Clovis. It features 24-hour live-in support staff who provide access to job training, mental health services, and work collaboratively with local agencies to ensure a healthy and safe community for residents and neighbors.

Learn more about Butterfly Gardens: https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/properties/butterfly-gardens/

☀️Temperatures are forecast to reach between 105-109 degrees in the San Joaquin Valley. Stay in air-conditioned buildings as much as possible. If your home doesn’t have air conditioning or if there was a power outage, find a public place you can go to get out of the heat:

•Libraries, shopping malls, and community centers can be cool places to take a break from the heat.
•Ask neighbors, friends, or family if they have a cool place where you can hang out.
•Call your local county to find a location near you to keep cool.
If you work outside:
•Take breaks to cool down.
•Your employer must give you water, rest, and shade.

📲You can find local cooling centers by county at:
https://news.caloes.ca.gov/coolingcenters/

Visit listoscalifornia.org for more extreme heat tips.


🤝Self-Help Enterprises has partnered with to help spread disaster preparedness tips. For more information visit https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/programs/emergency-services/emergency-preparedness-and-resiliency/

🧑‍💻Self-Help Enterprises has an opening for an Administrative Analyst in our Strategic Partnership team!

As the Administrative Analyst, you will work directly with SHE partner cities and counties to prepare grant applications and environmental reports, identify housing needs, access federal, state, and local resources, and implement housing rehabilitation, homebuyer assistance, and other related efforts.

📲Learn More and Apply Online Today!
https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/careers/25485/

📌 Check out our website to learn about other new roles:
https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/get-involved/ -opportunities

🧱🔨Discover the roots and history of our Housing Rehabilitation Program in our May newsletter. Learn how we've evolved from our first project in 1974, utilizing community support and innovative programs to rehabilitate homes in the San Joaquin Valley. Dive into our rich history and see how we're preserving affordable housing for future generations.

📰https://myemail-api.constantcontact.com/May-Newsletter.html?soid=1116313115863&aid=aZjgxVhR3ck

📰Self-Help Enterprises and the City of Exeter have partnered up in an effort to secure funding to renovate senior living apartments in town, providing residents with safe and suitable homes.

“Preservation of existing housing is one of our primary goals at SHE, along with the development of new affordable housing opportunities,” Betsy McGovern‑Garcia, Vice President of Self Help said. “Our goal with this project is to secure resources to acquire and rehabilitate the community, so it can continue to be high quality affordable housing for seniors in Exeter for another 55 years.”

Check out the full article to learn more:

Exeter looks to spruce up senior housing with Self-Help - The Sun-Gazette Newspaper Self-Help Enterprises and the City of Exeter have partnered up in an effort to secure funding to renovate senior living apartments in town,

Amazing progress on the construction of homes in Southwest Fresno! Thanks to Councilmember Miguel Arias and everyone who visited this exciting development.

📰One of the biggest changes to Kern’s new groundwater approach is preparation of a robust domestic well program under a planned partnership with nonprofit Self-Help Enterprises to make sure damage to household wells from over pumping is minimized and addressed so residents are protected.

Kern agencies prepare to submit third groundwater plan in hopes it's the charm that wards off state pumping takeover - SJV Water Kern agencies prepare to submit third groundwater plan in hopes it’s the charm that wards off state pumping takeover

🏘Looking to make a positive impact in your community? Explore exciting career opportunities with us today. We have multiple new positions now open and are accepting applications.

Check out our website to learn more about these exciting new roles, including:
📌Permanent Supportive Housing Specialist
📌Assistant Director Community Development

🧑‍💻https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/get-involved/ -opportunities

Self-Help Enterprises offers an exciting work environment where you can apply your high-caliber skills to a true career opportunity and impact the world around you!

📰If the state doesn’t order improvements to protect household and community supplies, disadvantaged communities in the San Joaquin Valley will suffer, said Jasmine Rivera, a community development specialist with Self-Help Enterprises, which provides emergency water to households.

“The stakes are extremely high,” Rivera said. “And the risk is extremely high.”

Read the full story from CalMatters at

California farmers depleted groundwater in this county. Now a state crackdown could rein them in Kings County agencies may face probation and millions in fines — which could be the first step toward the state wresting control of groundwater.

🏞To celebrate SHE's 60th Anniversary, each month this year we are highlighting the journey we've been on as an organization since 1965. Last month, we took a trip down memory lane and examined the roots of our Community Development programs, and this month we are spotlighting how much our initiatives have grown in recent decades.

🚰SHE's services extend beyond self-help housing, and we understand that for communities to truly thrive, we must have a holistic approach to supporting and elevating residents and families in rural areas. The cornerstones of our Community Development programs are safe drinking water and sanitary sewer systems, and we have expanded over the years to include drinking water for schools, community engagement and planning, and leadership development.

Keep an eye out for our April newsletter featuring these current programs and the impact we've made alongside our communities.

👏This month, SHE proudly celebrated alongside eleven participating families from its Mutual Self-Help Housing (MSHH) program who have completed building their own homes in Reedley! They welcomed the families and hosted a key ceremony in celebration of this amazing accomplishment.

One of the participants, Ana Cortes, excitedly shared how she felt after receiving the keys to her new home and being able to move in: “It was a huge effort, but in the end, it is pure joy!"

“They are a great group of hardworking participants,” said Juanita Franco, the program's senior loan processor. "Reedley is a great community to work with.”

There are currently two more groups of families currently working on building their homes in the same Reedley community for a total of 23 families. Construction for those homes is expected to be complete this summer.

Learn more about the Mutual Self-Help Housing program: https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/programs/build-your-own-home/

🧑‍💻We have another exciting career opening at SHE! As a Single-Family Housing Development Manager, you will perform project management services for a variety of intriguing and diversified planning and construction projects throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Projects include single-family subdivision development, infill new construction, land use and mapping projects, redevelopment of tax default properties, and more.

💻Interested? Apply Online Today!
https://www.selfhelpenterprises.org/careers/construction-manager-real-estate-development/

🏡Self-Help Enterprises recently received generous contributions from our partners to continue to serve families across the San Joaquin Valley!

A $50,000 check was presented to SHE for promoting homeownership in Black communities with Homeownership Counseling and Education (HCE). Tri Counties Bank contributed $25,000, which was matched with $25,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBSF).

"It is gratifying to work with Self-Help Enterprises to create homeownership opportunities for families in the San Joaquin Valley," said Danna Prater, VP, Director of Community Development for Tri Counties Bank. "Tri Counties Bank is excited to once again support SHE with an Empowering Black Homeownership grant and looks forward to its impact on our communities."

Thanks to their support, SHE can continue providing homeownership and counseling services via the Gateway Program. This program offers educational and counseling services to equip first-time homebuyers with essential tools and resources as they begin their homeownership journey.

Tri Counties Bank

🏡Want to become a homeowner and build your own home in Fresno? Now is your chance! We have one more lot available at our upcoming community in Fresno, CA, between East Annadale Avenue and South Ivy Avenue.

Our Mutual Self-Help Housing Program is available for low-income participants. There are also funding programs available to help keep home payments affordable!

Contact us today to learn how to sign up!
📞(559) 931-2450
📩or email: [email protected]

📰“We’re definitely advocating, pushing for more funding from the state to go to programs like this,” said Sanchez. “We’re very optimistic there is support for this type of program from legislators and other government folks that are seeing the value in this type of program.”

Sanchez said a key takeaway from the report is the importance of collaboration across the program. Between the two rounds of applicants there are more than 100 organizations working together on repurposing farmland, said Sanchez.

-Sonia Sanchez, manager of the community engagement and planning team at nonprofit Self-Help Enterprises

Report highlights strong interest in farmland transition funds - SJV Water There was no shortage of interest in the $90 million in state funding made available through the new Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program, according to the first report released this month on the effort to transition irrigated farmland in overdrafted groundwater basins to less water-intensive uses....

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🏡Join us for an informational meeting to learn about the upcoming Mutual Self-Help Housing project in the community of Patterson!

✅We're having two sessions on the following dates:
APRIL 25, 2024 at 5 PM
APRIL 27, 2024 at 10 AM

✅625 Logan Way Patterson, CA 95363

Self-Help Enterprises can make the dream of becoming a homeowner a reality for low-income families in the San Joaquin Valley. Through our program, eight to twelve families are grouped together and agree to help each other build their houses with skilled onsite supervision and guidance of Self-Help Enterprises construction staff.

📲For more information, please contact our office at (559) 651-1000