Samaritan House Secures $2.6M Federal Grant for Family Housing Expansion
The Kalispell nonprofit shelter is at 94% of its funding goal as crews build 18 reduced-cost apartments for families, set for completion next summer
By Maggie Dresser
Samaritan House Executive Director Cassidy Kipp announced Tuesday that the nonprofit homeless shelter has secured a $2.6 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant, bringing the organization to 94% of its funding goal for the expansion project that broke ground in 2024.
At an Oct. 20 “Hard Hats and Hotdogs” event, Samaritan House officials led a tour of the construction site on Second Street West in Kalispell, where crews are building the project’s family housing component. Planned for completion next summer, the facility will include 18 two- and three-bedroom apartments at reduced costs for families of three to five people, with or without children. Eligible households must earn between 30% and 50% of the area median income.
“This is phenomenal for two reasons — it gets us over this critical milestone that we need to complete the construction on this project,” Kipp said. “Secondly, it really positions us well when we are looking at supportive services for the households who will benefit from this particular project.”
Family housing construction has used $1.9 million of the recent HUD award, while $700,000 will go to resident support services, including two years of rental assistance for nine households.
Samaritan House and its partners — developer Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) and Swank Enterprises — have worked with Shopworks Architecture and LSW Architecture to construct a trauma-informed design. Elements include large windows, an enhanced security system, multipurpose outdoor space, secure fencing and child-accommodating features.
“It’s a biophilic and trauma-informed design, and that really means that it reaches out to people who have been informed by trauma and how they want to live, what makes them comfortable and what brings peace to their families,” RCAC Senior Project Developer Marney McCleary said.
In addition to the federal dollars, Samaritan House raised record sums through the Whitefish Community Foundation’s annual Great Fish Community Challenge. Those funds have helped stabilize operations and position the shelter to reopen emergency services and hire additional staff before Thanksgiving. Intakes unexpectedly paused this summer at the 30-bed shelter so crews could complete $850,000 in renovations to the bathrooms, dormitories, kitchen and heating systems.
Together, the $2.6 million award and the Great Fish Community Challenge funds have helped offset the loss of a $4 million HUD Continuum of Care grant that was rescinded last year amid a federal lawsuit.
“This is what is helping us kind of overcome some of those challenges we experienced before, and in conjunction with continued community support is really what makes us able to move forward with this,” Kipp told the Beacon.
Last December, the Samaritan House board of directors removed longtime Executive Director Chris Krager from his position, citing the nonprofit’s “long-term stability and “best interests.”
The “Building Stability” expansion project, which followed three years of planning that began in 2021, was anticipated to cost $16.9 million and broke ground in 2024. The original development plan called for three phases that included veteran housing, a community center, a new cafeteria and an emergency shelter. But Kipp said when she took over as director this spring that the long-term expansion plans are “constantly being evaluated due to the funding landscape.”
Even as fundraising continues, Kipp said partners are focused on the family housing phase, and officials will continue to evaluate any additional phases.
As Samaritan House regains its financial stability and moves forward with expansion, Kipp said the funding has also helped pay for services that support a “robust transition” for people exiting homelessness.
“It just really positions us better to be able to move forward,” Kipp said.
