By U.S. Department of Agriculture
USDA Rural Development Arizona State Director Charlene Fernandez announced that USDA is providing nearly $66M to improve access to jobs, health care, and infrastructure for people in Arizona’s historically underserved communities across the Rural Partners Network.
The funding will create jobs for rural people and help them expand their businesses. It will provide affordable, well-built homes for seniors and low-income families in rural areas. It will help farmers and ranchers transition to clean energy and find new and better markets for their products, and it will give people in remote areas access to modern water and wastewater systems, quality education and health care services.
Seventeen projects in Arizona are funded under the announcement. For example:
- The Local First Arizona Foundation will use a $136,610 Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant to develop strategic plans for the communities of Duncan, Springerville, Hayden, and the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Bylas. The plans will focus on economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring equitable access to community programming and benefits, and reducing the impacts of climate change and pollution.
- Sun Life Family Health Center, Inc. will use a $52,579,000 Community Facilities Loan Guarantee to construct a new healthcare facility to be built in Casa Grande. The new facility will provide multiple services in one location to improve patient care in this medically underserved location.
- International Sonoran Desert Alliance received a $268,236 Rural Business Development Grant to expand the Ajo Business Support Center and provide business services and training. The new center will promote economic development and job creation. This project is expected to assist 65 local businesses, entrepreneurs, or business startups, while saving twenty jobs and creating four new employment opportunities.
The announcement is part of a national announcement in which USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced $262M in funding for 68 projects total in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico. (Source)