Enterprise Foundation Awards $50K to Lac Courte Oreilles

The Enterprise Foundation has awarded a $50,000 community supportive housing grant from the Enterprise Rural and Native American Initiative to the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Government. The grant application was submitted by Sawyer County Development Corporation (SCDC) on behalf of Lac Courte Oreilles and brings new funding to develop a sustainable supportive housing development for individuals and families in need at Lac Courte Oreilles.

In 2011, Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Chairman Gordon Thayer, Vice Chairman Bill Morrow and SCDC Executive Director Scott Allen joined a contingency of housing professionals, Sawyer County Sheriff Mark Kelsey, and others in touring sustainable housing developments on the Fond du Lac reservation and Minnesota. The tour was arranged by Ms. Zoe LeBeau of the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) in Minnesota. Impressed by the impact supportive housing had on those communities, Lac Courte Oreilles and SCDC collaborated to apply for the supportive housing grant. LeBeau of CSH assisted LCO and SCDC with the Enterprise grant application.

Similar tribal supportive housing initiatives on the White Earth and Fond du Lac Reservations in Minnesota have been utilized to develop townhome-style houses with extensive on-site supportive services for distressed individuals and families living in poverty or formerly homeless. The support housing projects at White Earth and Fond du Lac provide healthy and safe, affordable housing to residents. According to the Enterprise Rural and Native American Initiative, supportive housing communities provide residents access to counseling, case management services, and advocacy, including support and follow-up services.

“A location has yet to be determined, and we look forward to working with Enterprise in making this a successful supportive housing project for the LCO community,” said Anona LaRonge, who serves as project assistant for the grant. “There has been a need for such housing and I’m glad we can move ahead with plans for its construction.”

The $50,000 grant award will go toward planning for a supportive housing development similar to White Earth and Fond du Lac, “with hopefully as much success as the White Earth and Fond du Lac projects have achieved,” LaRonge added.

“We saw the positive impact the Enterprise funding can have when we toured the Fond du Lac development and realized the great potential for such a development here at Lac Courte Oreilles,” said Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Chairman Gordon Thayer. “We appreciate the support of Enterprise in helping us with this initiative.”

A committee of community development, housing and social service professionals has been appointed by the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board to oversee the planning and development of the project.

The Enterprise Foundation through its Rural and Native American Initiative has invested over $100 million in grants, loans and equity to Native American communities since 1997. This funding has brought about development of more than 1,700 homes in 20 states.