Citizens for Affordable Housing, Incorporated has closed its Pahrump office.

The nonprofit organization helped low-income and very low-income families have a home by helping them to literally build one themselves.

Families who qualified for the program employed their own labor, usually 35 hours a week, in lieu of a down payment.

CAHI first came to Pahrump about two years ago and has since assisted 11 families in gaining a roof over their heads.

According to Tom Finch, director of development, the Pahrump office had a two-year grant from the Department of Agriculture Rural Development Program that required 16 homes to be built.

Being four homes short after the two-year grant ran out resulted in CAHI's doors closing in mid-November.

The USDA funded the mortgages on the homes with interest rates ranging from 1 to 6.25 percent.

"If we don't have funding from the USDA, how can we build homes?" Finch asked.

CAHI has also lost Ron Trunk as its chief executive officer.

According to Nevada Appeal, Trunk was informed he was being removed on Nov. 21 by CAHI's executive board.

Trunk said he was given the option of resigning or being terminated, but chose to be terminated under advisement of his lawyer because the organization still owed him money.

He said he had loaned CAHI about $75,000 of his own money, and although most of that had been paid back, CAHI still owed him funds for vacation time and accrued educational allowances.

"I was told the board had lost confidence in me," Trunk said.

He, however, countered that he had raised a lot of money for CAHI and was good at grant writing and fundraising.

"I'm sorry the board made their decision," Trunk said.

Trunk's dismissal spurred Al Cramer, another executive board member, to resign as well.

"I think (Trunk) had skills that we needed, and without him the organization would be under more stress than I wanted to deal with without him," Cramer said.

Trunk said he regrets the Pahrump office's closure.

"I wasn't a part of closing the doors," Trunk said. "That was their decision. Was it a challenge to find families in Pahrump? Yes. Does that mean you stop? I don't think so."

Trunk said there were several families qualified to build on the seven lots CAHI still has in Pahrump when the office closed, but Finch said that was incorrect and the families were not qualified.

As a result of the local office closing, a raffle for a playhouse was held in November despite its being advertised for June 19 of next year.

CAHI's decision to advance the drawing was outlined in a letter to the editor ahead of time.

Trunk said he was informed by Connie Snyder that she was directed to draw the tickets on Nov. 30, and the tickets were drawn with no one else as a witness.

Dan McClish, a former homebuilder, won the raffle.

The playhouse was sponsored this year by Community Bank and about 700 tickets had been sold at local events including the United Way Luau and the Wild West Extravaganza.

"I feel somewhat responsible because I solicited funds from Community Bank, and I feel they were shorted about six months advertising," Trunk said.