| Homeword Newsletter
September 4, 2024
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Executive Director Insight - Lots to Celebrate!
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Executive Director Karissa personally invites you to our upcoming celebration, tells you about changes to our team and shares some big news for our programs.
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Celebrate With Us Next Tuesday!
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You're invited to our celebration of 30 years of strengthening communities through creating safe, healthy homes Montanans can afford and providing homebuyer and financial education! Over the past three decades, we have created or preserved 1,609 homes in 14 communities around the state and empowered over 20,500 people through our programs. There will be live music, food, beverages, games and prizes! Please join us for our 30th anniversary celebration:
Tuesday, Sept. 10 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Highlander TapHouse (200 International Dr.) |
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Montana Homeowners, We Can Help!
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We provide free, ongoing counseling support to help you understand and apply for Housing Assistance Fund resources. Visit our counseling services webpage to get started with one of our counselors. We also have a new matched savings program that could help! Brush up on your financial skills and gain a better understanding of how to protect your largest asset while earning a dollar-for-dollar match on the money you save up to $500.
Contact our counselors today to find out if your income qualifies you!
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Trinity Celebration a Success
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Last month we held a celebration for Trinity Apartments, 202 homes for Missoula residents who are living on lower incomes and permanent supportive housing for people in our community who were previous living unsheltered.
In the program, we heard from Homeword Executive Director Karissa Trujillo, Missoula Housing Authority Executive Director Sam Oliver, Mayor Andrea Davis, all three county commissioners (Josh Slotnick, Dave Strohmaier and Juanita Vero), Division Administrator at Montana Housing Cheryl Cohen, Regional HUD Administrator Dominique Jackson and Paul Devlin, a resident at Maple Street Flats.
Another resident wrote about living in one of the Trinity Apartments rental communities, and we shared that at the event as well: "...when our name came up and I signed the paperwork and got the keys to our new home, it felt too good to be true. I will never forget walking into our brand-new apartment for the first time and knowing that so many new happy memories were about to unfold in this new home that was now ours to call home."
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Tori Moves to Asset Project Manager Position
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We have another staff transition! Tori Rushfeldt began in January 2024 as our administrative specialist, supporting all departments, serving as our first point of contact with the public and assisting with office operations. When an asset project manager position with our organization recently became available, Tori applied. As the successful candidate for this new role, she will work with all facets of our portfolio of owned residential communities. This position is responsible for an array of grant writing and reporting, construction, rehabilitation, and capital improvement projects. Way to go, Tori! We are so happy to see you continue to grow with Homeword.
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Welcoming Our Next Homebuyer Educator
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We are thrilled to welcome Jessa Farseth to our team! As our homebuyer educator, Jessa will provide counseling services including pre-purchase, post-purchase and foreclosure intervention as well as administration and facilitation of the homebuyer education course. She is dedicated to empowerment through inclusive learning, meeting people where they are with no judgment.
Jessa is excited to be a part of an organization that directly impacts the health of our communities and is so often a lifeline. Ask her and she’ll tell you her story of how she came to live at our Gold Dust property many years ago. |
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Welcome, DeAnna Felix and Drue Navidomskis!
DeAnna works as a real estate loan officer for Clearwater Credit Union, and she has worked in mortgage lending for nine out of her 10 years there. Early in her career with Clearwater, DeAnna attended Homeword's first-time homebuyer class. She then attended the full nine-hour course and the one-on-one pre-purchase counseling session.After becoming a mortgage loan officer, she began volunteering with Homeword, teaching the lender’s portion of the homebuyer class. Drue is a project engineer specializing in site/civil land development and utility infrastructure design for WGM Group, Inc. She is passionate about innovative multifamily-commercial development and designs in downtown corridors. Read more about our board of directors on our website.
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What I Learned as a Homeword Intern
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"My name is Keira Skovlin, and this summer I had the honor of working as the fundraising and communications (FunCom) intern at Homeword. In just two short months, I learned about Homeword’s many functions as a nonprofit: rental homes for Montanans living on lower incomes, financial skill building courses, financial counseling and homebuyer education. During the first few weeks of working at Homeword, I met with each staff member to learn about what they do in their positions and to gain an understanding of Homeword’s different moving parts."
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Free Strategies for Successful Homeownership Next Month!
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Attention, Missoula-area homeowners! You know that changes, challenges and opportunities can come your way at the most unexpected of times.Join us for our post-purchase class October 19-20. It is just for homeowners to help you stay up to date with information and resources to protect your largest asset. It includes:
- Area market update
- Calculating affordability for home loans and other loans
- Credit and budgeting strategies for the long term in the face of rising costs
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Review of products to help you access equity in your home
- Financial resources for Montana homeowners and how to access them
- Resources and skill building for home maintenance on a budget
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Information and resources for adding sustainability to your homeownership
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We offer a full range of services to help you get ready to buy a home, learn how to avoid foreclosure or manage your money better so you can reach your financial goals. |
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Do you have a great experience as a Homeword resident or class participant that you'd like to share? We want to hear from you!
Share your story and be entered to win a $100 gift certificate for Home ReSource.
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Special Thanks to Our Generous Partners |
Upcoming Events and Classes
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Homeword uses sustainable methods to strengthen Montana communities by teaching homebuyer education and financial skill building and creating safe, healthy homes people can afford. |
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20,500+
Montanans empowered through our Regional HomeOwnership Center |
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1,609 Safe, healthy homes Montanans can afford |
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1,000+ Program participants empowered last year |
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Our Contact Information
Homeword
1535 Liberty Lane, Suite 116A
Missoula, MT 59808
(406) 532-4663
http://www.homeword.org
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