1) The document discusses a proposed project to build energy-efficient housing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri using renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. 2) The project would provide job training and transition people from homelessness or substandard housing into zero-energy cost homes that produce renewable energy. 3) However, the proposal was rejected by Missouri state funding entities and the local community development group excluded residential housing from their downtown renewal plans, frustrating the goals of the project.

1. Leo, as to what our role is, I continue working with the region, despite a severe cut in
funding and time to operate. People in organizations tend get to a point of really doing
something and then they get on with what produces income for them all!
Here's an example:
We've been part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation national group to form
www.opportunitycars.com, a low-wage worker vehicle ownership program to maintaiin
employment opportunities by addressing the #1 issue that keeps people on welfare and
won't allow them to get off, i.e. lack of affordable, dependable, yet appropriate,
transportation. We met THE public policy writer who wrote a federal funding initiatives,
SAFETY-LU, for the Fed. Transp. Adm. to provide some set-aside, specific funding for
vehicle ownership programs aimed at getting low-wage workers to good jobs, etc. It's
set up to go though state, regional or local transportation authorities. In MO, MODOT
was just not interested, as it was not enough money, ultimately, to peak their interest. I
met with every other regional and local Transp. Auth. only to have them all show great
initial interest (I was talking untapped funding), which wained completely once the
directors realized that they would actually have to operate a legitimate ownership
program or, worse yet, partner with a successful, existing ownership program. This is
what I've faced in SE Missouri, actually most of rural MO, and Southern IL. It's a
mindset that keeps qualified organizations that can access specific funds for specific,
unmet needs from actually taking the step necessary even to apply for any supportive
funding to address major needs that keep people from accessing and maintaining
decent employment with benefit opportunities, etc. NIMBY prevails!
I have the support of our federal and state senators and reps but most local people don't
understand and our MO state funding entities have been reluctant to even consider a
solution that includes proven concepts that work.
For instance, I had $1 million in matching funds coming from our requests to SS Kresge
and the Maybe Foundations, which both support bricks and mortar projects that address
access to economic opportunity or build assets for low-wage workers in MO and a few
other midwest states. I had an option on a piece of property on the Mississippi River in
Cape Girardeau that has been blighted for 50 years. The owner promised to give part
of the property and has more property adjacent to donate, once we get the effort up and
running. We had a builder who has constructed solar home communities and grants
written by organizations awarded with New Orleans grants to restore schools and
neighboring homes using renewable energy. The idea was to construct enegy selfsufficient housing using renewable energy and transition people from homelessness or
renting sub-standard housing through and into zero energy cost housing ownership or
rental. Houses would be constructed of concrete within styrofoam, like the Millenium
House in OK that can be found on the internet to explain the results of the valuable test
of structure, insulation excellence, safe environment, protection from bugs, storms,
mold, no fumes, etc. We were located just a few blocks from our university, where we
thought we could connect for renewable energy technology training for everyone
involved and other interested people. The families participating would be mentored,
educated in a facility supported by mentoring teams, and a daycare and food bank
would be located in the training / mentoring facility onsite with 9 transitional / training
homes. We had the potential with connections to AT&T to install webconferencing in
each home, so people with disabilities could access all the training without leaving their

2. homes, etc. We planned to use solar and wind, as the location is on the Mississippi
River with additional airflow caused by the great river. Anyway, the purpose was to set
up IDA (matched savings accounts) that could use Earned Income Tax Credit, rather
than earned income, to make deposits that we planned to quadruple so saving
participants would put up $2,000 and get up to $8,000 as a down-payment on one of the
energy creating homes and then step into another savings program to start their own
businesses. We saw businesses being located on the bottom floor of the multi-story,
energy free homes built so the top floors had river views over our downtown flood wall.
We sent the proposal off to our MO state affordable housing entity, which decided that
they did not even want to look at the grant. They used as an excuse that they did not
receive a CD copy I put in the pocket of one of the proposal's ring binders before we
collated the binders and UPS'd them in overnight. I made and labled 2 CD's and can
only find one since then!
We see this concept as a means to create surplus electricity for rural areas and use that
power to lure business back into rural America. As businesses returned and buildings /
homes were built, we'd push to have them all built with as much renewable energy
production ability as possible, thus providing ongoing employment for our participants
interested and trained in renewable energy technologies PLUS the new buildings would
provide even more energy for luring more business back into rural areas! Suddenly,
rural America would the THE PLACE for new businesses to locate and operate plants,
etc. SE MO sits on a geothermal current that has up to 180 degree water continually
available. It's over hundreds of square miles around the New Madrid fault but has never
been tapped. That's nearly boiling water that could power steam generators with very
little additional heat from the sun, nearly zero pollution, etc.! We also planned 25 acre,
around the year vegetable greenhouses that would be heated for free by the water so
we could supply the Midwest USA with fresh vegetables all year!
We have communities and mayors ready and willing to duplicate our educational /
training transition with universities, like Lincoln University, ready to supply facilities,
training, etc. for people / communities transitioning into this concept. I have no idea why
the people with money have ignored our proposals, although some foundations were
ready to match whatever we could raise to get this going. We have absolutely horrible
housing and economic conditiions in the rural communities around us in several states
along the Mississippi, which also has not been tapped at all for ongoing, free water
power, despite changing, advancing technologies using this around the world.
I have to get everything re-established, for to keep going at all, I had to move my
equipment and join with offices another non-profit we created 18 years ago to supply
surplus medical supplies and used medical equipment to people who cannot afford this
and to nations around the world. It runs in 3 US states and Nigeria. We are talking with
McKesson about being their designated used equipment channel for the Midwest USA!
I only know that I had about 10 local banks meeting about starting a CDFI for our region
of MO AND I had a partner from St. Louis, one of the 2 already designated CDFI's in
MO, to branch out to our part of MO from St. Louis. All that has just sort of stopped, as I
had to take a job 8 months of the year to get income and benefits for myself and my
family.
We've had more than one huge, international organization call us for help with rural
community development, after those organizations received the federal Compassion

3. Capital grants, for which we had also written. Those huge orgs. got a coffee housing
gone as a result of all their work in MO! They started hearing our name when they went
to rural communities, because we've met with mayors, bankers, judges, legislators,
community development people, etc. trying to help the rural communities re-establish
their business environment, build our concept energy-producing homes and businesses,
etc. We offered to introduce their staff, struggling to get something going, to local
leaders, mayors, etc. only to have nor more contact from them! The money has come
and gone because the government wanted an organization with "capacity" doing the
community development work! So they chose an international food provision company
providing food needs to 3rd world countries to do rural community development in
several states, rather than talk with our federal legislators about whose doing the work
now and awarding grassroots, working programs, like Project HOPE, with any funds to
continue and expand our work.
It's been very, very frustrating, as we've written state-wide grants for initial Compassion
Capital funding to work in rural development, received just some minor
recommendations that should not have prevented the funding, or we, eventually, were
encouraged to partner with MO HHS. That result was a disaster, as our 11 other
associated mentoring programs, took my grant proposal to work with surrounding
communities in the 12 areas and hold 75% of the grant fund back for use by any newly
established, replicated community expansion / mentoring efforts! MO HSS took my
grant and re-wrote it so 80% of the requested funds went to 14 "new" "state directors",
while our 12 mentoring to work programs were "written" in to co-locate in our Workforce
Investment Board offices and we were actually expected to produce output for this effort
without a dollar allocated to any of the 12 partners! Of course this proposal was never
funded and our opportunity was lost. MO decided to run our annual $1 million state TA
funds through 18 already established "community partnerships", which took all the
mentoring funds for themselves and did not fund any of the 12 mentoring programs,
even for a year, once they received control of the funds. That's what we faced in MO
and it's very, very disheartening. I've spent about 18+ years working to plug community
unmet needs, build concepts that could provide low-wage workers with access to
ongoing economic opportunity, safe and truly affordable housing that can also produce
income for the owners, help establish micro-enterprise opportunities, etc. The result is
our community is the first MO Dream Initiative to be approved, a great concept to pull
together all MO funding entities focusing on community development and give approved
communities priority for approved proposals addressing community development. My
community did not even invite me to attend any meetings. I only learned of our efforts
by default and, although we'd pitched our home ownership program for zero energy
cost, affordable, safe housing to our mayor, etc., the community set up our "dream
initiative" boundaries to stop on the exact street, where we had an option to get things
started! Our "community group since has announced our local "dream initiative" to
renew downtown Cape Girardeau, and with "pride" announced that "there would be no
residential housing" included in our dream initiative to revive our town!
Leo, tell me how a town of nearly 40,000 people can "renew" their downtown area
without including any residences? Most of the downtown properties ARE actually
RESIDENCES AND WILL REMAIN SO IN THE FUTURE!

4. My ultimate concept for renewal of Cape G. is to set up something like Crystal City in
Washington, D.C., that would be multi-level housing with businesses, parking, etc. on
the ground floor, only because we have water level problems, stone, etc. in the ground
there, and residences with covered walkways to the Mississippi River over the flood
retaining wall, so residents could walk a half-block ot so to drink a cup of coffee in the
morning and watch "Ol' Man River go Rollin' By!"
They just don't get it and our local leaders don't seem to want to get it, in my opinion.
I'm relegated to do what I can to rejuvenate and implement our concept, because I
believe it will renew rural USA and help low-wage people have access to their own part
of our economic bounty by being a key part of the power providing "grid" and workers
within the industry. We see reneable energy technology as the next big world-wide
"technology revolution" - this means jobs with good pay, benefits, retirement, while
improving the quality and safety of life for everyone else!