KALISPELL — Two non-profits in the Flathead have agreed to work together to help create sustainable affordable housing in the valley.
Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley and the Northwest Montana Community Land Trust recently signed a Memo of Understanding which means that the two non-profits have agreed to work together to create sustainable affordable housing.
The partnership means Habitat for Humanity will get land from the Northwest Montana Community Land Trust to build their homes on rather than purchasing the land.
“It shows that people are coming together. I mean housing is such a huge problem in the Flathead. And it shows that the agencies are actually working with each other because no one agency can solve this on its own,” said Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley Executive Director MaryBeth Morand.
This will also result in lower house prices for the buyers when purchasing a Habitat for Humanity home because they will only be purchasing the structure, not the land.
“It makes a big difference for us, because hopefully we can build more houses a year. We only have so much money and yes, we are always looking for more donations. But with the resources we have, if we don't have to buy the land, we have more funds to use on construction materials. So by collaborating with the land trust, we can go from hopefully building three houses a year to building 10 or 12 or 15 houses a year,” said Morand.
Building on some new affordable homes on Northwest Montana Community Land Trust land is expected to begin this year.
You can visit Habitat for Humanity of Flathead County at https://www.habitatflathead.org/ or Northwest Montana Community Land Trust at https://www.nwmtclt.org/ for additional information.
