Pictured left to right are Valeria Felix, project manager Self-Help Enterprises, Tom Collishaw, president and CEO Self-Help Enterprises, Stefani D. Woods, SVP/market manager Community West Bank. Photo courtesy of Community West Bank.

Community West Bank has secured $1.97 million in an Affordable Housing Program grant to support Self-Help Enterprises’ Rancho Colegio affordable rental community. The grant comes throgh a partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank).

The project will add 80 multifamily units in Visalia, with 20 reserved for farmworker housing.

“Partnering with FHLBank San Francisco to build affordable homes in the Central Valley strengthens and supports the communities we’ve valued for so long. It speaks to who we are,” said James J. Kim, president and CEO of Community West Bank, in a news release. “Helping bring desperately needed affordable housing to Visalia is just one example of how we invest in relationships.”

Self-Help Enterprises is based in Visalia and is a nationally recognized nonprofit serving low-income families across the Central Valley. 

“We’re incredibly grateful for Community West Bank’s pivotal role in securing an AHP grant. Their dedication to low-cost, accessible housing shows a deep and genuine commitment to improving families’ lives,” said Tom Collishaw, CEO of Self-Help Enterprises. 

Since 1990, when its affordable housing project was founded, FHLBank San Francisco has partnered with several members, including Community West Bank, and has provided $1.41 billion in AHP grants to help develop nearly 155,000 affordable housing units. 

“In a critical time when more solutions to address the growing housing affordability crisis are desperately needed throughout our high-cost region of Arizona, California and Nevada, we are pleased to deliver on our mission of partnering with our member financial institutions to support affordable housing and economic development,” said Joe Amato, interim president and CEO of FHLBank San Francisco. “We’re proud to work with our members and their partners, including Community West Bank and Self-Help Enterprises, to help make a positive impact by creating and preserving access to more high-quality, units of affordable housing that offer individuals and families a place to call home.”