Members of HRDC say that we are on the precipice of a severe crisis in Montana when it comes to unhoused elderly people. Specifically in Bozeman, HRDC says they’ve seen an increase in unhoused elderly, and they believe this is mostly due to the high cost of living and their Social Security money isn’t enough to live on.
“We’re serving more people than we ever have. So, we’re seeing record numbers,” said Emily Smith, operations manager for the Headwaters Area Food Bank. From last year to this year, they’ve grown 50 percent, and their outreach doesn’t end in the headwaters.
This summer, several community organizations in and around Gallatin County gave out tens of thousands of free summer meals to children and their families.
Residents and local officials gathered on Thursday to celebrate Gallatin County’s public transportation services.
For nearly 20 years, the Human Resource Development Council has organized a free summer lunch program for kids up to 18 years old. The heart of the free summer lunch program is Olivia Smart, childhood nutrition coordinator for HRDC. Smart volunteered for the program as an undergrad at Montana State studying dietetics before taking on the role full time.
Affordable housing continues to be a major issue in Bozeman, which the Human Resource Development Council, in partnership with Boundary Development, is working to address.
HRDC will initiate the process of convening a local steering committee and hiring a Park County-based program manager to lead the Coalition in implementing the 2022 Park County Housing Action Plan.
As Big Sky community leaders explore ways to reduce vehicle traffic between Big Sky and Bozeman, improvements to Streamline might improve connectivity and motivate more workers and visitors to travel via bus.
Earlier this year, HRDC applied for a special federal grant to help enhance its public transit service through Streamline.
Now the nonprofit organization will be getting a good chunk of change. HRDC received over $450,000 in grant funding from the U.S. Federal Transit Administration.
The explosion of urban camping across the state tells us that the number of people needing emergency shelter is beyond our capacity.
Since 2015, Brooke has been working with Allergan Aesthetics, Body Contouring. In 2018, Brooke began her role as Senior Manager of Training. Brooke graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Commercial Photography from Appalachian State University in 2011.
Brooke began her role on our Board in 2019. However, she feels it’s more fitting to say that she gets to serve on our Board. For Brooke, an evening at our Fork & Spoon was her first glance into our organization’s powerful work. As Brooke states, joining the Board has only expanded her appreciation for the caliber of people leading our mission and the impact of our vast ecosystem of services. While metrics alone are impressive, Brooke likes to visualize each number as an individual example of support – an extension of a helping hand, a moment of relief – given to one of our neighbors. She is grateful for the opportunity to participate in shaping HRDC’s future.
Although Brooke spends most of her volunteer time with HRDC, she was fortunate enough to build with Habitat for Humanity over the course of the summer in 2020. Her favorite place to spend time is anywhere under the Big Sky, although Hyalite may be her favorite place on Earth.
