BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana Housing Partnership Conference gathered in Billings, bringing together housing professionals, policymakers, developers, and advocates from across the state. The focus is on finding solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Montana.
Mayor Bill Cole highlighted the severity of the issue, noting, “Between 2018 and 2023 in that five-year period the median home sales price in Montana increased about 90% while median household income only went up about 28%.”
The Apsaalooke Nation Housing Authority (ANHA) shared how the lack of affordable housing is particularly impacting the Crow Reservation. Lanny Real Bird, a board member of ANHA, emphasized the dire situation: “We’re faced with a very huge housing shortage there is a huge waiting list that we’re dealing with people who need a roof over their head. There are homes that have almost 3 or 4 families in them and almost 4 generations within that home.”
Jackie Yellowtail, an occupancy supervisor and legal advocate for ANHA, addressed the overcrowding issue. “Being able to upkeep the home to the safety standard that HUD has is a big issue with that many people in one home, it’s overcrowding severely,” she said.
Lesley Kabotie, another board member of ANHA, added, “The overcrowding, the circumstances that occur when there isn’t enough resources for everybody is not something that people feel good about.”
Real Bird pointed out that funding issues have drastically cut back infrastructure development. Projects funded by HUD have been affected by factors such as COVID, tariffs, and legislation. These challenges have driven up costs, making it difficult to address the housing shortage.
Kabotie highlighted the broader implications, stating that the lack of infrastructure has forced many people to leave the reservation for places like Billings, often resulting in homelessness. “Tribal community economies are grossly undeveloped. Across the whole state of Montana. And that’s something that we need to be in conversation about,” she said. “It’s not just housing, it’s housing tied to the economy, tied to the environment, tied to the land.”
She hopes the conference will foster more conversations and partnerships to start finding solutions.