Samaritan House expansion in limbo as federal housing agency goes 'radio silent'

A $4.3 million grant that Samaritan House officials hoped would fund the facility’s expansion project seems to have disappeared.  

The Kalispell homeless shelter and transitional living facility was working on getting the multimillion-dollar grant approved when the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the federal agency in charge of dolling out the funds, “just kind of went radio silent,” said Chris Krager, the organization’s executive director. 

“We were in the process of approval, and then the process just stopped,” he said.  

The Department of Housing and Urban Development did not respond to a request for comment before press time.  

The Samaritan House is undergoing a $16.9 million expansion project that would nearly double its capacity, allowing it to serve around 85 more people.  

So far, $12 million has been raised through various avenues including donations and fundraisers. Around $7 million of that figure has come from federal grants already awarded to the project.  

The $4.3 million grant that would have helped to close the remaining gap in funding comes from the Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care grant program, which “is designed to promote a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness,” according to the federal agency.  

Krager suspects that staffing cutbacks by the Trump administration may be a reason for the sudden communication breakdown. But that's just a guess, he said.  

“I haven’t heard from anybody. I haven’t heard anything,” he said.  

Krager said he is concerned the funding may not come back.  

With the expansion, the Samaritan House will see 18 two- and three-bedroom apartments for free and reduced family-style housing, an overflow for the shelter and a 16-unit building to house homeless veterans.  

Kalispell is the largest city in Montana with no housing dedicated to homeless veterans, according to Krager.  

The potential loss in funding will not affect the initial project designs or timeline, he said.  

“We are being flexible and nimble to pivot our phasing,” Krager said.   

The facility was meant to be built out in three phases, but Krager is adding a fourth phase, which means pushing the construction of a community center further down the road.   

He described the approach as “biting off smaller chunks rather than bigger chunks."  

“It’s definitely interesting times we’re living in. Between federal funding freezes and unfreezing, and then also with market instability. More than ever, it is time to be focused and nimble,” Krager said.  

Construction is expected to kick off sometime in the early summer after the Department of Environmental Quality finishes its cleanup at the former Army Reserve Armory located at 1110 Second St. W., which is where the forthcoming apartments are expected to go.  

The Samaritan House was at or near capacity all winter, Krager said. 

MORE THAN $7 million from the same federal grant program was sought to help fund construction of permanent supportive housing on the Flathead Reservation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. 

“We applied for it but we were never awarded it. Nobody has heard about any of the awards,” said Jodi Cahoon Perez, executive director of the Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority. “We submitted the application and then that’s all. It stopped there.” 

Perez said that applicants typically receive a letter whether they received the award or not, but that has not happened yet.  

While Perez helped prepare the application, it was submitted by the Tribal Defenders Office. The housing authority provides rental assistance to residents of the supportive housing. 

Perez said that historically the Continuum of Care program has been limited to covering operational costs. This grant was unique in that it could be put toward construction, she said.  

“But nothing was awarded. But there is talk that they are just going to roll that allocation in with regular Continuum of Care dollars,” she said.  

The tribes created its first permanent supportive housing program in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Allocating $7.25 million, the tribes’ homelessness task force bought an old motel in Ronan and converted it into an apartment complex.  

Maintenance issues and a lack of community space have since prompted efforts to create a new complex, which is being called the Morning Star apartments, which the federal grant would help fund. 

Tenants are given a case manager who is focused on helping them heal and become self-sustaining.  

“So they’re addressing root causes that's creating instability in their lives. It’s beautiful to watch,” Perez said.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and junderhill@dailyinterlake.com.