HARRISBURG, Pa. — The President's Senior Advisor Tom Perez greeted Harrisburg Mayor Wanda Williams outside a new row of affordable single-family homes on Swatara Street on Tuesday, part of a project backed by the Biden administration.
"It's not every day you get a visit from the White House, especially when it's to highlight something so important," Williams said.
They met Navy Veteran Damon Taylor at his new Harrisburg home. The proud first-time homeowner welcomed Perez and Williams in for a tour of the place he still can't believe is his.
"I don't know what heaven feels like yet, but it's close," Taylor said.
After serving in the Iraq War, Taylor said he was unhoused.
The Lebanon VA helped him get an apartment and he soon found stable work, but he still felt a home was out of reach.
"I didn't think I would be able to from the very beginning," he said. "I was just satisfied with my apartment and living every day, satisfied with that."
His dream became reality when he moved into new Tri-County Housing construction last January, made possible by The City of Harrisburg's Affordable Housing initiative and $8 million from the American Rescue Plan.
Perez scoped out new the townhomes on Hummel Street in the city.
The low-cost multi-bedroom residences are selling out, offering families stability.
"When we do this together, we expand opportunity," said Tom Perez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. "When you have a roof over your head, you have dignity. That's what it's about."
"If it wasn't for the programs for the Veterans and the affordable housing programs the City of Harrisburg offer, I would not be here," Taylor added.
Mayor Williams said the city is working on seven more affordable single-family or apartment complexes that will be up for sale in the coming years.