PABLO — The Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority (SKHA) opened the first five of 47 homes as part of a campaign to address housing insecurity and overcrowding on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
These five homes are available to households qualifying for the SKHA’s Low Rent Program which requires fair market rent price for families with income at or below 80% of the federal poverty line.
“Housing is often identified as a basic necessity, even a human right because it’s virtually impossible to maintain a stable and secure lifestyle without it,” says SKHA executive director Jody Perez.
SKHA secured a Competitive Indian Housing Block Grant at $975,000 for this project and met the required grant leverage with dedicated land and $165,000 of its annual Indian Housing Block Grant, contributing more than 25% of the overall construction cost.
Development of these homes as part of the “Quality Homes for Qualify of Life” campaign was identified as a priority by the SKHA after analysis of housing wait lists revealed that over 100 households were in need of 2-bedroom rental units in the Pablo area, which has an average waiting period of 2.5 years.
In the fall of this year, the SKHA will open 13 homes currently under construction in the Maggie Ashley Trailer Park in Pablo, a location that has been identified as the highest need to reverse overcrowding and housing insecurity.
“The SKHA staff and dedicated contractors are doing everything we can to, as quickly as possible, build quality homes for people in our community who are most in need of housing.”
