Seventeen Natchez families may be new home owners by June of next year. The first few in a Natchez assistance program could be in their houses by December.

&uot;I have to pinch myself to make sure it’s real,&uot; said Janet Minor, who is among the first group to pass all the requirements for the assistance and could be in a new home within months. &uot;I’m paying rent now, and that could be the same as a house note. With rent, the place will never be yours even in 50 years.&uot;

The Affordable Housing program, administered by AJFC Community Action Agency, provides down-payment assistance for single family homes. But it does much more than that, said Fannie Brown, the program coordinator at AJFC.

&uot;We hope to start construction on June 1 for the first seven houses,&uot; Brown said.

Those houses will be built on Jason Circle in the Broadmoor area. The houses will be appraised at about $87,000 but &uot;we’re trying to give them only about $62,000 to finance,&uot; Brown said.

Money for the program comes from various sources, including $82,000 from Foundation for the Mid South through two Entergy grants; $500,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Children and Family Services Act of Independent Living; $10,000 from Britton & Koontz First National Bank; $10,000 from United Mississippi Bank; $8,000 from AmSouth Bank; $56,000 from AJFC; and loans from the Federal Home Bank of $100,000 through United Mississippi and $50,000 through Concordia Bank &

Trust Co.

Potential home owners must put aside money for a down payment, and that money is matched by the program.

&uot;The ones who have saved the right amount of money and have everything else in line are the ones who go first. They have to be credit worthy. And we help them to get to that point by showing how they can pay off debt and start saving.&uot;

The program provides classes on finances and budgeting &045;&045; basic ways to manage money and keep a clean credit record.

For Minor, children’s coordinator at the Judge George Armstrong Library, the classes were excellent tools to help her prepare for home ownership and to learn tips that she plans to pass on to her children, ages 7 and 11.

&uot;This whole program is a blessing,&uot; Minor said. &uot;It makes you realize you don’t need all those credit cards. My credit is in good standing.&uot;

Now she has rules she follows. &uot;I put God first. I tithe. Then I pay myself by putting money into a savings account. And then I pay the bills,&uot; she said. &uot;If you pay in that order, everything will fall into place.&uot;

Fredaca Singleton is another successful participant. &uot;The classes were really good. We went step by step learning what you should do to handle your personal finances and have a better credit record.&uot;

The goal of owning her own home was worth all the extra effort of attending the classes and working daily to be a good steward of her finances.

An employee at Smart Style Salon in the Wal-Mart store, Singleton works full time and has two children, ages 6 and 7. Like Minor, she believes the training she has had in the program will help her children to grow up with better understanding about personal financial responsibility. &uot;The program is a nice stepping stone for anyone who wants to better themselves and to get a home,&uot; she said. &uot;I thank God for it.&uot;