‘Housing for All’ Conference is Today and Tomorrow in Missoula

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The National ‘Housing for All’ conference will be convening in Missoula on Monday and Tuesday this week.

Housing advocates, city and county, and non-profit leaders from 12 midsized cities in the U.S. are in Missoula to see how we approach ‘housing and health equity’.

I spoke with Lisa Beczkiewicz, Health Promotion Manager and Invest Health Team Leader at Missoula Public Health on Sunday evening, who shared what will be happening on Monday and Tuesday.

Leaders From Mid Sized Cities All Over the US are in Missoula This Week

“Missoula is a midsize city, and we have been lucky and honored to be a part of a larger network called Invest Health, and that's through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Reinvestment Fund,” began Beczkiewicz. “Essentially, we, along with about 35 other mid-sized cities across the nation are really focusing on equitable community development.”

Beczkiewicz said the action starts today in Missoula.

The Group Will be Learning From City and County Leaders and Organizations

“On Monday (today), Mayor Davis is going to open us up and welcome the cities at the Holiday Inn Parkside and then we're going to have Damian Chase Begay from the University of Montana, talk about our indigenous communities, and then we're going to move into talking about what the North Missoula Community Development Corporation has done with their housing and resident owned communities and Land Trust as well as NeighborWorks, Montana.”

Following this morning’s activities, Beczkiewicz said the party will move to the monthly City Club luncheon.

“Then we're going to come down to City Club at the Double Tree and have a panel of local speakers, including a community developer and somebody from the city and Homeword to talk about our continuum of housing,” she said. “It sounds like there are over 200 other people from the community that will be there with us to engage with the city, so it'll be really fun to have 50 people from other cities across the nation mixing and mingling with City Club.”

12 Cities From All Over the USA are Represented in Missoula

Following the City Club meeting, the group will continue to meet with other people and agencies in Missoula.

“Then, we're going to hop on a bus and go take a tour of some innovative co-op housing models, some permanent affordable housing projects, the Temporary Safe Outdoor Space shelter, the Blue Heron, which is supportive housing with a wraparound medical and mental health services, really showing them how in Missoula, we are building homes for all different types of people that need a home.”

There are teams in Missoula today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday) from Illinois, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Iowa, California, Rhode Island, and Virginia for the ‘Housing for All’ conference.