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Measuring the Effects of Affordable Housing on Communities Across Montana
The Center for Children, Families and Workforce Development (Center) recently secured a 3-year, $161,882 grant from the State of Montana’s Department of Commerce (DOC) to evaluate the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds’ (SLFRF) Affordable Housing Gap Financing Project through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The project requires an evaluation to build evidence about the role that SLFRF funds play in improving outcomes for disproportionately impacted populations in Montana who are houseless and/or have low-to-moderate incomes. There are 11 housing projects located on 13 distinct sites in the following counties: Big Horn; Carbon; Flathead; Hill; Lake; Missoula; Park; and Yellowstone. DOC has provided the ARPA funding to these projects, and each has its own separate developers who are building these unique sites. Two sites, in Missoula and Yellowstone Counties, have permanent, supportive housing where houseless and low-to-moderate income individuals can receive wraparound services such as health, mental health, employment, and child care.
“The Montana Department of Commerce is pleased to be partnering with the Center for Children, Families, and Workforce Development to complete this long-term study to build evidence of the efficacy and efficiency of providing funding to ensure the development of affordable housing for low-to-moderate income Montanans,” says Department of Commerce Housing Program Executive Melissa Higgins. “This rigorous program evaluation is important to promote and improve the program’s value, and we expect this study will further reflect how affordable housing is fundamental in addressing the social determinants of health for low-to-moderate income Montanans.”
The Center's evaluation activities will focus on Social Determinants of Health and how those indicators change after individuals are provided with stable, affordable housing. Population-based and quantitative indicators will be tracked and analyzed through statistical methods (and possibly through GIS). These indicators include—but are not limited to—crime rates; food insecurity; access to health and mental health; employment; poverty; child care; and school attendance/absenteeism. The Center will also collect and analyze qualitative data through extensive interviews with housing recipients (individual and group), housing management, project developers and key DOC staff.
“The ARPA funds were critical for our affordable housing developments under construction during the pandemic. Those funds allowed our projects to move forward and become homes that Montanans can afford,” says Karissa Trujillo, Deputy Director of Homeword, Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on strengthening Montana communities by teaching homebuyer education and financial skill-building and creating safe, healthy, affordable homes. “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home and these properties meet a critical need for people exiting homelessness, seniors, veterans and the workforce. Homeword is eager to hear the feedback from the ARPA Gap Funding Project Evaluation, to really understand the impact those dollars had on helping us achieve our mission.”
If you would like more information on this project contact Kristen Rogers at [email protected].
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