Key Community Partners throughout Gallatin County held the fourth Regional Housing Coalition meeting convened by One Valley Community Foundation

Gallatin County, MT – On Friday, November 17th, One Valley Community Foundation’s Regional Housing Coalition (RHC) held its fourth and final meeting of 2023 in Belgrade. At the meeting, members debriefed the Coalition’s work on behalf of the Gallatin County Commission and the City of Bozeman in exploring the feasibility and effectiveness of creating a local housing authority.

Responding to requests from the County Commission and the City of Bozeman, the Coalition convened multiple work group meetings, engaging subject matter experts from across the state and country to determine what benefit, if any, a housing authority would bring to the region and then provided key insights to City and County officials. The Gallatin County Commission ultimately denied the housing authority proposal, as announced on November 28th.

At the November 17th meeting, the Coalition also conducted work planning for 2024, which includes plans to streamline the development of permanently affordable housing county-wide, enhance collaboration on and create a regional strategy around homelessness and supportive housing, create a unified regional framework for public policy advocacy at the state legislative level, and more.

“This first year of the RHC has been instrumental in bringing diverse decision makers together who otherwise may not find themselves in the same room, building a cohesive and results- oriented community, and learning just how much we can accomplish when we work together,” said Bridget Wilkinson, President and CEO of One Valley Community Foundation.

Over the past year, key community partners from various sectors across Gallatin County have been coming together to address housing challenges in our region. Prior meetings were held in Three Forks, West Yellowstone, and Bozeman to ensure the Coalition gained a comprehensive understanding of the state of housing across the entire county, including local nuances in the County’s five incorporated cities and towns as well as Big Sky. The Regional Housing Coalition,

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an initiative of One Valley Community Foundation, gathers key community partners quarterly to establish shared goals and metrics and coordinate solutions around housing.

“There are so many incredible minds in the room at the Regional Housing Coalition meetings that I know I could pick any one person’s brain for a whole day,” said David O’Connor, Executive Director of the Big Sky Community Housing Trust and member of the RHC. “I walk away from every single meeting feeling better at my job.”

For more information on the Regional Housing Coalition, please go to www.onevalley.org/regionalhousing.