Congress must act on housing crisis

For the past six months I have been talking to hundreds of Montanans about their concerns and hopes for the future, and the one issue that comes up every time is housing. Some of our neighbors and their kids are living on the streets. Young families who would like to live here can’t afford to. Businesses, like Pyramid Lumber in Seeley Lake, are closing down because the workers they need can’t afford to live in town.

There’s no doubt about it: The housing crisis is severe and it’s doing real damage to communities throughout western Montana.

But we’re not stuck: Local governments, developers and housing organizations like Missoula’s Homeword are undertaking smart, thoughtful and innovative efforts to solve the problem.