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From left to right: Helena Area Habitat for Humanity site; NeighborWorks Great Falls Rockcress Commons site;
and the Montana Street Homes by Homeword in Missoula

Impacts Under the Big Sky

A Montana Housing Partnership Project

Impacts Under the Big Sky is a collection of programs, projects, initiatives or research that organizations around Montana have conducted in the last two years or may currently be in progress. This poster exhibition shows the versatility of the housing-related work that is happening across Montana. Examine these initiatives to gain insight to similar programs your organization may want to implement, see the breadth of statewide programming, and appreciate the great work that our Montana housing community is dedicated to.

 

Each poster reviews the goals, activities, major outcomes, population(s) served, funders, and advice. We hope these poster displays incite inspiration and truly highlight the impacts being made under the big sky. 

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Trust Montana

Trust Montana is a community land trust, a nonprofit that holds land in trust for the purpose of keeping the buildings affordable for the community. Their goal is to serve all of Montana, but is currently functioning as a pilot project for Missoula County. They currently serve households earning less than 80%

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Rockcress Commons

Rockcress Commons is a 124 family Multi
Family Low Income Housing Tax Credit development located in Great Falls Montana. This development is a partnership between GMD Development and NeighborWorks Great Falls.

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Voucher Allotments

Missoula Housing Authority views access to attainable housing for everyone as a community responsibility and a basic human right, and we work every day to provide as many housing options as possible for our community. For the first time in decades, Missoula Housing Authority successfully competed for new Section 8 vouchers in three different opportunities –and was awarded in all three! 

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Cornerstone

Cornerstone is a twelve-unit permanent supportive housing project for the homeless who have highest impact on our local system. Missoula has had the highest levels of homelessness and chronic homelessness in the state. Also, Missoula’s rental market has extremely low vacancy, making it challenging for high needs tenants to find units even with a voucher.

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A Place to Call Home

The City of Missoula adopted “A Place to Call Home” in June of 2019 to address Missoulians’ housing needs. The recommendations contained in this Policy are grouped into four primary action areas:

  1. Track and analyze progress for continuous improvement;

  2. Align and leverage existing funding resources to support housing;

  3. Reduce barriers to new supply and promote access to affordable homes;

  4. Partner to create and preserve dedicated affordable homes. Since June, we have been working to implement over 30 individual policy recommendations within those four action areas.

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Growth through Land Use

In 2018, the Tri-County Housing Needs Assessment was completed, addressing key housing issues and needs for the greater Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, and Jefferson County region. As part of this effort, one of the actions that was recommended was to have jurisdictions "review development codes to include mechanisms that support affordable housing" in order to address the lack of housing available to meet demand at all levels of the rental and homeownership markets.

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Financing Homes 

The Montana Department of Commerce Community Development Division (CDD) supports the development of homes that Montanans can afford by providing gap financing through three HUD Programs -the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the HOME Investments Partnership Program (HOME), and the Housing Trust Fund (HTF). The Housing trust Fund, and HOME Investment Partnerships Program are U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded affordable home programs administered through the Department of Commerce.

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Emergency Shelter

This project is a community wide collaborative effort providing temporary emergency shelter for unhoused individuals during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Providing a safe space to rest, quarantine space for anyone with COVID19 symptoms, Medical Health Screenings & Treatment, Meals, Resource Coordination, Mental Health & Addiction Services, Transportation to essential appointments, classes for entertainment, library book check-outs and Wi-Fi. We are preparing for the possibility of a second surge of COVID-19 cases in our community.

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Independent Living

In 2012 Montana was the first state to extend visitabilityrequirements (zero-step entrance, wide hall/doorways, accessible half bath) to all affordable housing ground-floor units, including units not covered by the Fair Housing Act such as single-family homes and townhouses. This project will explore the resulting impacts of this policy change; including unintended or naturally occurring outcomes of the policy change.

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View Vista Community

This project permanently secured affordable housing through resident ownership of a manufactured home community and apartment complex in a high cost location. Protection of affordable homes and apartments into the foreseeable future in a market with very few affordable options.

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