Blog/News
Recently, SERCAP’s Housing Department assisted a low-income family of three (3), living in Roanoke County, VA. The clients have lived in their home for two (2) years, but just recently began experiencing leaks in their waterline, which desperately needed to be replaced. However, due to their low-income status the family was unable to afford the cost of replacing the leaking waterline on their own, without causing serious financial hardship...
Recently, two members of SERCAP’s Regional and Loan Fund staff from Virginia exhibited at the South Atlantic Well Drillers Jubilee in Myrtle Beach, SC. The South Atlantic Well Drillers Jubilee is an annual professional development event and tradeshow for the well drilling industry, which was started by the North Carolina Well Drillers Association in 1954. The 2022 event was attended by hundreds of well drillers from across both southeastern and midwestern states, including the Commonwealth of Virginia. Throughout the three-day event, attendees had the opportunity to participate in over 20 continuing education and track courses, with topics ranging from well rehabilitation and maintenance to managing and disposing of fluids and solids generated on-site during drilling...
Recently, SERCAP’s Housing Counseling Program was awarded the FY2022 Credit Improvement Program, in partnership with Virginia Housing. SERCAP is an approved HUD Local Housing Counseling Agency (LHCA), and regular sub-grantee of Virginia Housing’s grant programs for housing counseling. After successfully completing the FY2021 Program, SERCAP was awarded additional funds for the FY2022 Credit Improvement Program, which will allow the agency to serve more potential homebuyers...
Recently, SERCAP’s Essential & Critical Needs Program assisted an elderly woman living in Accomack County, VA, to have her alternative septic system repaired. The client has owned her home for 26 years, and has been experiencing difficulty with her alternative septic system for quite some time. An alternative septic system is an onsite individual household wastewater disposal system that deviates from a traditional septic tank. It is common for households in Accomack County, VA to utilize alternative septic systems due to the area’s low water table. However, these alternative systems can be costly to maintain, and due to the client’s low-income status, she was unable to afford the cost of the necessary repairs without causing financial hardship...
Currently, SERCAP’s Housing Department is assisting a low-income Senior couple living in Page County, VA, to rehabilitate their home through the Indoor Plumbing & Rehabilitation Flex (IPR-Flex) Program. The couple has lived in their home for 12 years, but recently began experiencing difficulties with their shared well, when it started to go dry. However, due to the couple’s low-income status they were unable to replace the well on their own without experiencing significant financial hardship. Fortunately, they were referred to SERCAP by a relative...
On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, SERCAP partnered with the Total Life Center of Southside Virginia to conduct a Community Focus Group as a crucial part of SERCAP’s Biannual Community Needs Assessment process. SERCAP’s Biannual Community Needs Assessment allows SERCAP to obtain an accurate sense of what the rural communities in Virginia struggle with most. Conducting these conversations and collecting this information further enables SERCAP to develop a real understanding of what the actual community needs are, in the localities the agency serves...
Recently, SERCAP’s Housing Counseling Program delivered 10 in-person Group Education Workshops, for the first time in over two (2) years, at the Dumas Center and the Dorcus House in downtown Roanoke, VA. Since becoming a HUD approved Local Housing Counseling Agency (LHCA) in 2012, SERCAP’s Housing Counseling Program has provided clients with no-cost one-on-one housing counseling, financial literacy, and group education services. During the bulk of 2020 and 2021, these services have primarily been provided over the phone and through online workshops. However, beginning in April 2022 SERCAP’s Housing Counseling Program has returned to providing in-person group education workshops...
Recently, SERCAP’s Certified CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) Loan Fund assisted a low-income single man living in Pittsylvania County, VA, to have a new individual household well installed at his home. He has lived in his home for 23 years, but as of eight (8) months ago, began experiencing difficulties with his well. Initially, the well flowed freely for about a two-week period, but then the flow of water would slow to a trickle while the well re-filled itself over a two-day period. This cycle left the client in desperate need of potable water during the two-day refilling period, however, due to his low-income status he was unable to afford the cost of having a new well drilled on his own, without causing serious financial hardship...
Currently, SERCAP’s Regional Department is partnering with the Virginia Chapter of the American Waterworks Association’s (AWWA) Water Reach Committee to work with communities across the Commonwealth of Virginia to identify short-term projects which will support long-term community planning and yield a high-level impact on community infrastructure and sustainability. Throughout the course of the COVID-19 Pandemic, rural communities, like their urban and suburban counterparts, have experienced challenges such as staffing issues, making long-term planning and capital investment difficult. Due to their geography, topography, and limited resources, these small, rural communities often struggle to connect households to local water utility systems, leaving residents without access to potable water in their homes. Additionally, maintaining compliance with the new EPA lead and copper regulations has also proved to be a challenge for these rural communities...
Recently, SERCAP’s Housing Department assisted a low-income, elderly woman living in Buckingham County, VA, through the agency’s Indoor Plumbing & Rehabilitation-Flex (IPR-Flex) Program. The client has been living in her home for seven (7) years, but recently reported a failed septic system. A home inspection revealed that her home was also in need of several other significant repairs, however, due to her low-income status she was unable to afford the cost of a new septic system and the needed home repairs on her own without causing significant financial hardship...