Cori’s Story

If you asked our Supportive Housing Manager, Greg Overman, he’d tell you that, “On any given day at HRDC’s Housing First Village, hope and heartbreak can exist just a few feet apart.”

One resident may be celebrating a new beginning while another may be spending the final chapter of their life surrounded by people who know their name.

That is the reality of Housing First Village, a neighborhood of tiny homes created for people who have experienced chronic, long-term homelessness. It is more than a place to live. It is a place where people facing some of the highest barriers to stability can find something they may not have had in years: a home, a community, and a chance to move forward.

Cori had been experiencing homelessness since she was 15 years old.

By the time she was identified for Housing First Village, she had cycled through emergency shelter and other services and was one of Bozeman’s most frequent users of emergency services. Years of trauma and instability had made finding and maintaining traditional housing incredibly difficult.

Then Cori became pregnant.

For many people, pregnancy brings excitement and anticipation. For Cori, it brought uncertainty. Housing First Village was not originally designed with infants in mind, but Cori’s circumstances did not change the reason she was there. She was still exactly who the program was created to serve.

Moving into the village did not make Cori’s challenges disappear. What changed was that she no longer had to face them alone.

Before her daughter was born, Cori entered inpatient treatment and connected with therapy, medical care, psychiatric services and other support available through HRDC and its partners. Through each difficult moment, staff continued to show up beside her.

and with stability came something Cori had not always had the opportunity to experience: the ability to pour into other people.

When new residents arrived at the village, Cori was often one of the first to welcome them. When a new neighbor moved in, she organized a picnic so he would not feel alone on his first day.

She also began sharing her story beyond the village, speaking with organizations across the country about her experience with homelessness and Housing First. During one virtual presentation attended by nearly 200 housing professionals, Cori was the only speaker with lived experience of homelessness.

She reminded everyone listening what a difference it can make when someone has a place to call home while they work through everything else.

“We are growing to live with each other and we understand each other. We all get along.”

After two and a half years at Housing First Village, Cori reached a milestone she once may not have thought possible: she moved into permanent housing of her own.

But Cori's story also captures another side of what Housing First Village can provide.

The day she moved into her new home was also the day another longtime resident, Ken, passed away.

Standing on the sidewalk, Greg watched Cori load up her belongings while her two-year-old daughter laughed nearby. Behind him, the county coroner was quietly helping another resident make his final journey after spending the last years of his life, housed at the village.

Cori noticed.

“Did Ken pass away?” she asked.

Greg nodded.

After a long pause, Cori looked at him.

“Greg, you talk about dignity a lot. He got that. I got it. and my daughter got it too.”

Housing First Village had given her the opportunity to build a future with her daughter. It had given Ken a safe place to live during the final years of his life. and in both cases, it gave them something that can be lost so easily when someone is experiencing homelessness: dignity.

Sometimes housing creates the stability someone needs to begin again. Sometimes it means having a front door, a neighbor who knows your name, and a place where you can be cared for at the end of your life.

That's what Housing First Village provides. Every person deserves one of those things. HRDC works every day to make sure they can have both.