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Housing First Village

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Trauma-informed designed paired with supportive community services will address homelessness, increase community belonging, and enhance mental and physical well-being.

Housing First Village aims to provide transformative housing to Bozeman’s chronically homeless. Both the number of people experiencing homelessness and the duration of homelessness have been increasing in our community. The Warming Center, which provides seasonal, temporary shelter, is reaching capacity. Several consistent years of a virtually zero percent vacancy rate in rental housing make it more challenging for our chronically homeless Warming Center guests to use existing rapid re-housing resources to support permanent housing transition.

Targeted towards the homeless population most at risk, this safe and sustainable model is designed to support successful reintegration into community living and permanent housing. The single-user “tiny” homes or shelters would provide a new way to address the growing issue of homelessness while maintaining the resident’s autonomy and dignity. This model is based on the “Housing First” philosophy, limiting the barriers to entry and providing supportive services to residents, including mental health and addiction support. Central to this model’s success is a resource hub, which will include access to health resources, case management, and other support services. Each home will have a small kitchenette and bathroom for independent living.

This idea has evolved, originally brought to HRDC by Connie Campbell-Pearson, a deacon at St. James Episcopal Church in 2016. A partnership with MSU School of Architecture has supported senior and graduate-level architecture students researching best practices in the tiny shelter mode and developing and fully constructing demonstration projects. Of the five types of homes in the Village, two have been designed by MSU School of Architecture. By bringing different sectors of our community together, we can work to support our homeless neighbors in finding a place to call home.

In 2019 HRDC began incorporating Supportive Housing best practices through support from the Montana Healthcare Foundation and technical assistance from Corporation for Supportive Housing.

Also in 2019, the village was awarded $500,000 under the Fannie Mae Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge: Healthy Affordable Housing. As a contract awardee, HRDC has partnered with the Urban Institute for learning and evaluation. Links to their research are below can be found here:

Implementing Tiny Homes as Permanent Supportive Housing (2020)

Building and Launching Tiny Homes as Permanent Supportive Housing: Outcomes Study for Housing First Village in Bozeman, Montana (2021)

HRDC purchased land for the development in early 2020 on Wheat Drive in Bozeman. Construction of the 19 homes began in March 2021. With a Fall 2021 completion of phase 1 residents began moving into their homes on November 1, 2021.

Download the guidebook here
Visit Fannie Mae’s Page on Housing First Village
Read Fannie Mae’s insight on sustainable communities: Housing First Village
Read the Urban Institute Article: Build and Launching Tiny Homes
Sign up for monthly newsletters
Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity to help build the final 7 tiny homes

Total Project Cost

$3,800,000

Project Type

Permanent Supportive Housing

Income Targets

Very Low Income

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Brooke Poole

Public Sector

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.

Ron Brey

Public Sector

Ron served as Bozeman’s Assistant City Manager from 1990 to 2008. After retiring, Ron joined our Board in 2011. Ron received his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Montana in 1977, and his Masters in Science in Rural, Town, and Regional Planning from the University of Montana in 1987.

During his time with the City of Bozeman, Ron saw the important role that HRDC has played in our community. Ron has seen that HRDC provides necessary social services to assure that all Bozeman residents could obtain housing, food, training, employment and the other necessities of life. He also came to understand that HRDC was always able to respond immediately as new community needs arose. Ron believes that the dedication, hard work, and compassion of HRDC’s staff make it a real honor to serve on the Board.

Ron also serves on the Trails, Open Space and Parks Committee for the City of Bozeman, and as a volunteer with the Red Cross. One of Ron’s favorite activities is walking his beloved dog every day, enjoying many of Bozeman’s trails and parks, like Burke Park, Bozeman Creek, and the Hyalite and Mount Ellis areas. Ron and his wife Claire enjoy spending their days with family, friends, and time outdoors.