Funding Opportunity – Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program

Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program (RHSE)

Funding Opportunity: Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

The Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program (RHSE) program supports quality of life in rural communities across the United States by addressing the relationship between rural prosperity and rural health; and safety in the context of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. RHSE program proposals are expected to be community-based outreach education programs, such as those conducted through Human Science extension outreach that provide individuals and families with:

• Information as to the value of good health at any age
• Information to increase individual or family’s motivation to take more responsibility for their own health
• Information regarding rural environmental health issues that directly impact human health
• Information about and access to health promotion and educational activities
• Training for volunteers and health services providers concerning health promotion and health care services for individuals and families in cooperation with state, local, and community partners.

For more information, read the RHSE funding opportunity.

VA (Veterans Administration) – Home Loan – Construction

Program Description

VA guarantees a percentage of the loan. This helps the veteran obtain a no-down payment mortgage at a competitive interest rate.

General Program Requirements

Persons who may qualify for VA guaranteed loans include

• Veterans (including Reserve and National Guard members who were called to active duty)
• Active duty service members
• Current Reserve and Guard members (usually after 6 years of reserve service)
• Certain surviving spouses

Commissioned Officers of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are considered to be active duty members and veterans, once discharged.Length-of-service requirements apply in most cases.

Veterans must have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.

You will need a valid Certificate of Eligibility (COE). You can get one from VA or from a lender using the Automated Certificate of Eligibility (ACE) program.

Loan Terms

A loan to finance the construction/purchase of a residence is closed prior to the start of construction with proceeds disbursed to cover the cost of, or balance owed on, the land, and the balance into escrow. The escrowed monies are paid out to the builder during construction.A veteran begins making payments on a construction/permanent home loan only after construction is complete. So, if the home takes six months to complete construction, the payment schedule for the veteran obtaining a 30-year mortgage must provide for full repayment of the loan in 29 years and six months.

On a construction/permanent home loan, the builder is responsible for:

• Interest payments during the construction period, and
• All fees normally paid by a builder who obtains an interim construction loan including, but not limited to:
  – inspection fees
  – commitment fees
  – title update fees, and
  – hazard insurance.

Application Process

Contact a lender to discuss qualifying for the VA loan. The lender will make sure you meet basic program requirements, including the following:

• The loan must be for the home you will live in.
• The home must appraise for the loan amount or higher.
• You must have enough income to meet your monthly mortgage payments, maintain the home, take care of other debts and obligations, and still have enough money left over to cover day-to-day expenses (food, gas, etc.)
• You must also have a good credit history.

You may also wish to use the VA Home Loan website at http://homeloans.va.gov/veteran.htm as a reference point on how to use the program or for other more specific questions that you may have about the program.

Program Contact Information

For more information on this program, please visit: http://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/ Please contact a Regional Loan Center if you have detailed questions: http://www.homeloans.va.gov/RLCWEB.htm

Michigan Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP)

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is Federal money given to each state to assist low-income families with energy costs. In Michigan, the LIHEAP block grant is used for the following programs:

• Home Heating Credit
• State Emergency Relief (SER)
• Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)

General Program Requirements

In order to qualify for this benefit program, you must be a resident of the state of Michigan, you must need financial assistance for home energy costs and your household’s annual income before taxes must not exceed $11,913 if one person lives in the household; $16,027 if two people live in the household; $20,141 if three people live in the household; $24,255 if four people live in the household; $28,369 if five people live in the household; $32,483 if six people live in the household; $36,597 if seven people live in the household; $40,711 if eight people live in the household; and $44,825 if more than eight people live in the household. For larger households, add $4,114 for each additional person in the home.

Application Process

To apply, please contact the local Department of Human Services (DHS) office in the county in which you reside: http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5461—,00.html

Program Contact Information

For more information about this program, please visit: http://www.mi.gov/dhs/0,4562,7-124-5453_5531-15420–,00.html

Michigan Family Independence Program

The Family Independence Program (FIP) provides cash assistance to families with children and pregnant women to help them pay for living expenses such as rent, heat, utilities, clothing, food and personal care items.

FIP applicants and recipients may be assigned to the Jobs, Employment @ Training (JET) program through the Michigan Works Agencies for assistance in finding a job or to develop needed job skills.  Help with transportation, childcare and other needs related to employment and training may be provided.

General Program Requirements

In order to qualify for this benefit program, you must be a resident of the state of Michigan, either pregnant or responsible for a child under 19 years of age, a U.S. national, citizen, legal alien, or permanent resident, have low or very low income, and be either under-employed (working for very low wages), unemployed or about to become unemployed.

Application Process

The Department of Human Services must help all persons fill out the application, when requested, if you need help, please call or visit your local DHS County Office: http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,1607,7-124-5461—,00.html

Veterans (VA) – Health Care – Domiciliary Care

This is a program that provides assistance to veterans affected by a range of problems such as:

• Medical
• Psychiatric
• Vocational
• Educational
• Social

Treatment and rehabilitation are provided by a team of professionals in an environment where veterans support each other as they focus on developing greater independence.

Application Process

For more information please visit:http://www.va.gov/healthbenefits/access/home_health_care.asp

You can find the locations of the domiciliaries at this site:http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/division_flsh.asp?dnum=1

Home Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance

This program, Section 203(k) insurance, enables homebuyers and homeowners to finance both the purchase (or refinancing) of a house and the cost of its rehabilitation through a single mortgage or to finance the rehabilitation of their existing home.

All persons who can make the monthly mortgage payments are eligible to apply. Cooperative units are not eligible; individual condominium units may be insured if they are in projects that have been approved by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or the Department of Veterans Affairs, or meet certain Fannie Mae guidelines.

Contact an FHA-approved lender for loan term information. To find an approved lender, please visit:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/groups/lenders

To obtain an FHA insured mortgage, contact an FHA-approved lender: http://www.hud.gov/ll/code/llslcrit.cfm

To read more about this program, go to: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/203k/203k–df.cfm

To contact a HUD Housing Counseling agency, go to http://www.hud.gov/counseling/ or phone 800-569-4287. (800) 569-4287

To contact the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), please use one of the following methods –

Visit:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/fharesourcectr.cfm

Write to:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Federal Housing Administration
451 Seventh St., SW
Washington, D.C. 20410

Call:
1-800-CALL-FHA (800-225-5342)

Email:

info@fhaoutreach.com

Alabama Weatherization Assistance Program

The Weatherization Program is designed to save energy and enhance the self-sufficiency of low-income families by helping them to reduce their home heating and cooling bills. In order to receive assistance, the applicant’s income must not exceed 150 percent of the established poverty level for the state of Alabama. Weatherization assistance may include installing insulation, replacing or repairing windows and doors, sealing of air leaks, patching small areas of the roof, or underskirting. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) administers this program through the Community Action Agencies across the state.

In order to qualify for this benefit program, you must be a resident of the state of Alabama, your household’s annual income before taxes must not exceed $16,245 if one person lives in the household; $21,855 if two people live in the household; $27,465 if three people live in the household; $33,075 if four people live in the household; $38,685 if five people live in the household; $44,295 if six people live in the household; $49,905 if seven people live in the household; and $55,515 if eight people live in the household. For larger households, add $5,610 for each additional person in the home.

To apply, please call the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs at 334-242-5373.

Or call the Community Action Association of Alabama at 205-342-9291.

For more information about this program, please visit:
http://www.adeca.alabama.gov/C14/Weatherization%20Assistance%20Prog/default.aspx

Disaster Assistance – Individuals and Households Program (IHP)

The Individuals and Households Program provides assistance to individuals and households affected by a disaster to enable them to address necessary expenses and serious needs, which cannot be met through other forms of disaster assistance or insurance. Forms of other needs assistance under IHP include personal property, medical, dental and funeral.

In order to be eligible for this program, you must be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien, and: 

• You must have losses in an area that has been declared a disaster by the President of the United States
• You have disaster-related necessary expenses or serious needs
• The disaster-caused need cannot be met through other forms of disaster assistance or insurance, including a disaster assistance loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration
• You have insufficient or no insurance.

To apply for this program please contact FEMA at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or visit:

http://www.fema.gov/assistance/index.shtm

You can visit a local Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) for assistance, or call the FEMA helpline for teleregistration or with questions about FEMA other needs assistance:
1-800-621-3362

Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Program

The Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Program offers fellowships, through Institutions of Higher Education, to faculty members who propose to conduct research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies to improve their skill in languages and knowledge of the culture of the people of these countries.

In order to be eligible for this program, you must:

• Be a citizen or national of the United States, or a permanent resident of the United States,
• Be employed by an institution of higher education,
• Have been engaged in teaching relevant to your foreign language or area studies specialization for the two years immediately preceding the date of the award,
• Propose research relevant to your modern foreign language or area specialization, which is not dissertation research for a doctoral degree, and
• Possess sufficient foreign language skills to carry out the research project.

For application information, contact your institution’s designated point of contact.

For more information, visit:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsfra/index.html

If you have questions about this program, please visit:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsfra/contacts.html

Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad – Bilateral Projects

The purpose of this program is to increase mutual understanding and knowledge between the people of the United States and those in other countries by offering qualified U.S. educators opportunities to participate in short-term study seminars abroad on topics in the social sciences and the humanities.

There are approximately seven to ten seminars annually with fourteen to sixteen participants in each seminar. Seminars are four to six weeks in duration. All seminars are held in countries outside of Western Europe.

Terms of the award include a round-trip economy airfare, room and board, tuition and fees, and program-related travel within the host country.

The requirements for this program are:

• Citizenship – must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
• Academic Preparation – must hold at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Professional Experience – (1) must have at least three years of education-related full-time experience by the time of departure for the seminar; (2) must be currently employed full-time in a U.S. school system, institution of higher education, local education agency, state education agency, library, or museum; and (3) must be currently employed full-time in a teaching position at the level for which the candidate is applying.
• Health – The candidate must be physically and psychologically able to participate in all phases of the seminar. Award recipients must provide a physician’s statement to reflect participant’s readiness for travel.

To apply for this program, please visit:

http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpssap/applicant.html

For more information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpssap/contacts.html