Regional Housing Trust Fund History

In the spring and summer of 2010, community leaders and housing organizations throughout our six county Council of Government (COG) region came together to form the AHEAD Regional Housing Trust Fund (RHTF).

Area-wide Housing Enterprises and Development (AHEAD), Inc. has successfully served as the area’s Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) for many years, operating programs designed to help employed first-time homebuyers with down payment and closing costs.

The new AHEAD Regional Housing Trust Fund will address a wider range of housing needs.  The mission of the AHEAD RHTF is to promote the creation and preservation of affordable housing for low to moderate income households in our region.  The RHTF will assist individuals, community organizations, non-profit and for-profit developers in rehabilitation, repair, and new construction projects.  Projects and activities funded by the RHTF will serve households with incomes at or below 80% of the HUD median family income guideline, with at least 30% of project dollars used to benefit extremely low income households (< 30% median income).

Priority will be given to projects that address repair and rehabilitation of the region’s aging housing stock.  The RHTF intends on conducting a region housing needs assessment to help identify and prioritize housing projects and activities.  The AHEAD RHTF will also seek to partner with other public and private service providers to identify regional affordable housing needs.