In rural New England, as in the rest of rural America, residents are more likely to be elderly and/or to live in poverty than the population as a whole. USDA Rural Development has a long and successful history of facilitating the provision of affordable housing to these low and very low income rural Americans including in the rural areas of New England. During the past three years alone RD has invested $828 million in the six New England states. Nearly 5,200 homeowners have benefitted from RD loans, loan guarantees and grants. Numerous residents of rental properties have also benefitted from RD’s rental housing programs. USDA Rural Development has been an essential partner in revitalizing New England communities, creating new affordable rental housing, enabling low income residents to become homeowners, and helping very low income homeowners to make essential repairs. New Englanders have also relied on RD to house farm workers, preserve existing multi-family rental developments and help potential homeowners build their own homes through self-help technical assistance. These programs are essential to meeting the affordable housing needs of rural New England. Comparable programs do not exist at HUD and rural communities in New England often are not competitive for some HUD programs. Many low and very low income homebuyers rely on this program as they only way to achieve homeownership. In the past three years alone, the 502 program has enabled nearly 500 New England families to accumulate assets through equity on their homes and to achieve the security that homeownership brings.