Clayton and Rural LISC Support 34 Local Community Development Organizations Focused on 'Healthy Housing' Initiative

Washington, DC – Rural LISC today released a list of 34 community development agencies (www.lisc.org/rural) that have received grants funded in part by Clayton, a national builder of off-site and site-built homes, to develop new and rehabilitated construction as a part of the organization’s Healthy Housing Initiative.

LISC was founded on the principle that “place matters” – that where a family lives is a key factor in its members’ health, wellbeing and success – and nothing is more central to “place” than a home. 

Rural LISC’s Healthy Housing Initiative provides capacity building or pre-development funding in the form of grants up to $17,500 each, totaling nearly $500,000 in support of healthy housing activities. Selection criteria required applicants to demonstrate how their proposed project or program integrated healthy housing into community revitalization strategies and responds to a challenge or opportunity in a defined community. 

“Rural LISC’s approach to community development is comprehensive,” said Caitlin Cain, LISC Vice President and Rural Director. “Rural low-income communities face a complex mix of challenges that need to be addressed using an integrated approach. Improving the health of the housing stock is a good start, but through our comprehensive community development strategy, we leverage healthy housing work with other programmatic and funding opportunities to strengthen community investment.”

Research overwhelmingly supports the benefits of healthy housing in rural and urban environments as housing is a key social determinant of health, yet the housing stock in rural communities often is aging and in need of repair, and may in many places be contributing to unhealthy living conditions. 

“Developing and preserving safe, decent and affordable housing has always been at the core of Rural LISC’s community development values and it is a cornerstone of our comprehensive community development strategy,” Cain continued.

Learn more about the 'Healthy Housing' Applicants here.

See the full press release here.

About Clayton
Founded in 1956, Clayton is committed to opening doors to a better life and building happyness® through homeownership. As a diverse builder committed to quality and durability, Clayton offers traditional site-built homes and off-site built housing – including modular homes, manufactured homes, CrossMod™ homes, tiny homes, college dormitories, military barracks and apartments. All Clayton Built® homes are proudly designed, engineered and assembled in America. In 2021, Clayton built 60,701 homes across the country. Clayton is a Berkshire Hathaway company. For more information, visit claytonhomes.com.

About Rural LISC
Launched in 1995, Rural LISC is the rural component of the largest community development support organization in the country, LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation). Rural LISC provides a wide range of services, including financial support, training, technical assistance and information to help rural community service partners and developers address the obstacles specific to rural communities. To date, Rural LISC has leveraged nearly $3.3 billion from public and private sources to produce 35,000 affordable homes and apartments, create 4 million square feet of commercial and community space, assist 700 businesses, create 12,000 jobs and support 20 early childhood centers. By generating resources and investing in the grassroots efforts of its 140+ rural partner community-based organizations in 49 states, Rural LISC is committed to ensuring equity and sustainable resources in rural America. Learn more at www.lisc.org/rural. 

About LISC
With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1979, LISC has invested $24 billion to build or rehab more than 436,320 affordable homes and apartments and develop 74.4 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. For more, visit www.lisc.org.