CIRI NON-PROFIT NEWS:
HEALTH, CULTURE, EDUCATION, SOCIAL PROGRAMS

CIHA Closes 500th HOME Loan

Albert Wood signs loan documents as his daughter Lona and CIHA's Norman Kallander look on

Cook Inlet Housing Authority closed its 500th HOME Loan in January marking a milestone in the organization's goal to promote independence through housing. A combination of funding sources made it possible for Albert Wood, an Alaska Native of Inupiat descent, to own his first home in Palmer. Thanks to Cook Inlet Housing Authority's HOME Loan Program with participation from Rural Development and Wells Fargo Bank, Wood, a 63-year-old father of three children, is finding true stability for his family. The HOME Loan Program made Wood's mortgage payments $75 less per month than he was paying in rent for a two-bedroom apartment.

Cook Inlet Housing Authority's HOME Loan Program provides deferred secondary loans to eligible applicants as they finance a home or construct a new home in the Cook Inlet region. The program also provides counseling on homeownership to eligible applicants as they progress from an applicant to a homebuyer. In order to be eligible, the applicant's total adjusted gross income for the entire household including Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends for all household members cannot exceed 80 percent of the area median income, adjusted for family size, as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For more information, contact Cook Inlet Housing Authority at (907) 276-8822 or toll-free at (888) 667-2442.

Hail to the Chief

CIRI Chief Operating Officer Mark Kroloff, Cook Inlet Tribal Council President and Chief Executive Officer Gloria O'Neill with daughter Ravynn, and CIRI Chairmen Emeritus John Colberg and William Prosser with President George W. Bush and Laura Bush at the Alaska Native Heritage Center last month. The president and first lady stopped in Anchorage en route to the Far East.

According to Alaska Native Heritage Center President and CEO Margaret Nelson, the president's visit to the Heritage Center was an unprecedented opportunity to share Alaska Native cultures, and advance Alaska Native issues on the federal agenda. Bush mentioned his meeting with Nelson and Alaska Federation of Natives President Julie Kitka during his national weekly radio address. And according to Kitka, the meeting has already resulted in two important, high-level meetings with the White House Domestic Council and the Department of Justice.

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