Finding housing in Montana is challenging under the best of circumstances. Add a prospective tenant’s mental health or substance abuse issues into the mix and it gets more complicated.
Montana has received federal approval to provide Medicaid-funded housing services to assist those with behavioral health needs find housing. Support includes help making applications, connecting to community resources and working on building relationships with landlords.
"This is a huge deal, quite honestly,” says the Missoula Housing Authority’s Mary Melton.
Missoula Housing Authority provides affordable and subsidized housing in the Missoula area. Melton says the new program is exciting for Montana’s mental health agencies and the people who help them find housing for clients.
"It can actually help fund more case management, quite possibly. It’s possible more people could be hired in order to help their clients navigate whatever housing market they’re looking in.”
The program is now available to qualifying Medicaid members who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
