Mississippi Home of Your Own Workshop Scheduled for October 8 in Hazlehurst

Mississippi Home of Your Own (HOYO) will sponsor a free, one-day homebuyer education workshop on Saturday, October 8 for residents with and without disabilities in Leflore and surrounding counties.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development office at 27169 Highway 28, Suite B in Hazlehurst.

In its 14^th year of service to Mississippians with disabilities and their families, HOYO is an award-winning program of The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies. HOYO was created to empower people with disabilities to reach their individual dreams of owning and maintaining their own homes. Since 1997, HOYO has assisted 436 people with disabilities and their families in 60 Mississippi counties in becoming homeowners.

Forgivable deferred loans of up to $15,000 are currently available to eligible borrowers with disabilities in designated areas through HOYO. More information about these loans will be available at the workshop.

HOYO focuses on creating a support system that identifies potential homebuyers, analyzes their housing needs and financial capacity and prepares them for homeownership. Applicants of the HOYO program must attend homebuyer education seminars to be considered for financial assistance in purchasing a home.

For more information or to pre-register for the free homebuyer education seminar, call the Hattiesburg office of the Institute for Disability Studies at 601.266.5163 or toll free at 1.866.671.0051.