To view the original article, click HERE.
Addressing Helena’s unprecedented housing crisis
It’s no secret that Helena is facing an unprecedented housing crisis. By March of this year, we could no longer keep up with the number of inquiries into the Habitat for Humanity housing program. There are now 230 families on our waitlist and housing prices, driven in part by the pandemic, have pushed homeownership out of reach for many people in Helena. Over the last year and a half, the cost of housing here has increased 27% and with it, lessened the opportunity for working families to purchase a home.
Not only is this hard on families, but a lack of affordable housing also has a direct impact on our economy, as businesses struggle to find workers who can afford to live here. Stunningly, well over 50% of Helena residents currently qualify for Habitat for Humanity’s housing program.
Fifty years ago, you could buy a home in Helena for $150,000 (adjusted for inflation). In October of this year the cost surpassed $400,000. Housing costs have increased 167% over the last 50 years. Wages have not kept pace. While local businesses do what they can to increase wages with added benefits to attract employees, where do these workers live in a market with so few affordable homes?
Habitat for Humanity’s vision is of a world where everyone has a decent place to live, where everyone has a safe and affordable home. I imagine people might view this vision with a degree of skepticism. Do we really believe that everyone who wants to live and work here has a decent place to call home? These days we will need to think well beyond Habitat’s prior model of building homes one at a time, handing over sets of keys each year to a few lucky families. Decent housing, however, should not be a matter of luck, and the “one home at a time” model no longer meets these needs of the greater Helena area.
These times demand that Habitat finds new and innovative ways to build as many homes as possible every year. It demands that we not only build new homes but repair the existing aging stock of homes that have fallen into decline but could easily be restored. Our vision demands we be a leader in the conversation around the housing disparity in Helena, looking for solutions within our community that create and celebrate partnerships between the for-profit, nonprofit and government sectors.
We know from research that families with children living in adequate, affordable housing are healthier, that their children attain more academically, and that communities are safer. Communities that prioritize housing thrive economically because homes are where the jobs go to sleep at night. Our local small businesses are learning that lesson now. Housing is the key.
There are many nonprofits that you do not ever want to disappear from Helena. These are the organizations that help children, showcase the arts, or provide opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities. These types of nonprofits make our community brighter and more vibrant.
Other organizations exist whose sole purpose is to meet the most basic of human needs. These nonprofits (Habitat for Humanity included) have it in their mission to address a social, moral, ethical and/or spiritual deficit in a community. They have a vision of a future when the need they address no longer exists. If our organization worked to solve housing with innovation, ingenuity and fire there would indeed be a day when our services would no longer be needed. Habitat for Humanity should be working toward putting itself out of business.
We feel it is our responsibility to justify our charitable position in this community and fulfill the vision of our organization and continue pushing the boundaries of our work until we can say with conviction that every person, every family in Helena, Montana, has a safe and affordable place to live. We look forward to a future where we can close the doors one last time and say with conviction, “Vision Accomplished.”
However, that day is a long way off, pushed further into the future by recent events. But it is what gets us up in the morning and looking toward the future to which we aspire. Moving into 2022 and beyond, with a new city commission seated and a new governor in place, it is time for us all to come together and together solve the housing crisis here and across Montana. Montanans have always taken care of each other, and it is no different now than any other time when we rallied around a problem and together, forged a solution. I urge us all – citizens, business, social services organizations and government, to reach across the aisles of politics and ideology to collectively work on solutions to meet the needs of our great community.
Towards that end, Helena Area Habitat for Humanity will be sponsoring a series of Town Halls in early 2022. Dates will be announced soon on our Facebook page and our website: www.HelenaHabitat.org; we hope you will join us in this important conversation.
Jacob Kuntz is the executive director of Helena Area Habitat for Humanity.