Family Promise of Gallatin Valley receives grant; looks to help families alleviate burden of high prices

Apr 20, 2022

By Tara Jensen

KBZK

BOZEMAN - As the cost of housing continues to reach higher and higher, some families in Bozeman also have to contend with the high cost of child care. Family Promise in Bozeman hopes to alleviate some of that stress for families.

Family Promise of Gallatin Valley was able to secure a grant, with the hope of helping families in need find some financial support.

“(To) expand how we help our community in the Gallatin Valley,” says Zachary Wangler, Family Shelter Manager at Family Promise of Gallatin Valley.

The goal of the $10,000 grant is to keep families afloat during a transition period.

“Provide resources like helping pay for housing application fees, or to provide financial incentives to landlords, or to offer some financial copays,” says Wangler.

At a time when the cost of living continues to rise the stain on families only goes up.

“If you can find availability for housing. We’re looking at about $1,000 a bedroom, which, for a lot of families, is completely unaffordable,” says Wangler.

According to AAA, the average cost of gas in Montana is $4.03. The cost of child care can range from $7,900 for a 4-=year-old to around $9,000 a year for an infant, according to the Montana Budget and Policy Center. The median price of a home is $896,000, according to the Gallatin Association of Realtors.

Wangler says that high costs are causing a lot of families to consider leaving the area. They hope with this grant to keep them here or help with relocation.

“A lot of people who have been here for a long time are being forced to move further and further away,” says Wangler.

For families where relocating is the only choice.

“We’ll create a plan of action to make sure that they have a place that is safe, that is stable, that they have housing options there, or a job there,” says Wangler.

Wangler says being able to be part of a larger community investment is good.

“We had a family who was in our shelter, in our transitional housing and at the end of their two years they bought a home through HRDC,” says Wangler. “We are always looking for ways to build up the community.”