Greetings, Flathead Beacon readers! Maggie Dresser here, and while the smoke outside tells me it’s definitely still August, I am currently pretending it’s October as I write this newsletter from inside the spooky-themed Revamped Coffee shop in Belgrade that includes a showing of Coraline in the corner along with a Ouija board available for summoning spirits. I have not made it very far in my northwest travels after attending a mental health journalism conference yesterday in Bozeman hosted by The Carter Center based out of Atlanta.
At the Field & Stream Lodge, I heard from a slew of journalists from Montana Public Radio, Lee Newspapers and Montana Free Press who shared their mental health-related reporting in addition to healthcare professionals highlighting the most pressing challenges they face for a full day of conversations surrounding storytelling.
In my own reporting, I have found that mental health intersects with every beat we cover at the Beacon, which includes stories about housing instability in a region where the real estate market is not accessible to low-income households.
But the residents of Twin Acres and Willow Glen in south Kalispell can take a collective sigh of relief after their combined trailer parks recently became the Flathead Valley’s fifth resident-owned community (ROC).
Residents of the 55-home community have purchased the land beneath their homes, which provides long-term housing stability and preserves existing affordable housing. NeighborWorks Montana, a local nonprofit that helps homeowners finance manufactured home parks through the ROC program, guided the residents through the process.
“Twin Willows is a powerful example of what can happen when manufactured homeowners are given the opportunity, tools and financing to purchase the land beneath their homes,” NeighborWorks Montana Cooperative Housing Director Danielle Bundrock said. “These 55 households are not simply buying property, they are creating long-term stability, preserving affordable homes and building a community they will govern together.”
Based on information gathered by NeighborWorks, 72% of the Twin Willows residents are low-income or very-low income while 6% are veterans and 14% are disabled.
“There’s a weight lifted off our shoulders,” newly elected Twin Willows President Debbie Profitt said. “Being on the board allows us to make sure things are getting done properly and gather feedback from all the residents moving forward.”
“This is an opportunity to keep people in their homes,” Whitefish Community Foundation President and CEO Alan Davis said last month. “With affordable housing, a lot of the focus is on new inventory and new construction, but we are losing affordable housing when we sell. Preserving housing is really important.”
After residents were served eviction notices, NeighborWorks Montana and the foundation established a tax-deductible emergency relocation fund to help ease the financial burden for residents, many of whom were low-income and senior citizens.
In follow-up interviews conducted by NeighborWorks, the eviction’s aftermath resulted in a significant impact on many residents, including the splitting up of several families, while the stress also contributed to declining health for some residents. Children with special needs also did not adapt well to the transition while others lost “specialized learning support” following the move.
The study also concluded that social connections were fractured for many families following the relocation. While some improvements in physical health were reported, there were also significant declines in mental health and increases in social isolation.
At Twin Willows, Davis said the foundation saw an opportunity to prevent a similar situation and mass eviction, which influenced the board’s decision to award the grant.
Here’s the rest of this Thursday edition of the Daily Roundup.
Whitefish Council Directs City Staff to Continue Work With Iron Horse for Second Fire Station North of Viaduct
After another lengthy discussion, city councilors gave the OK to city staff to take the next step and begin developing an agreement with the Iron Horse homeowners association and Iron Horse Golf Club to tackle a funding plan for another city-owned fire station north of the Baker Avenue viaduct.
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