HELENA — East Helena’s Cory-Dullum Veterans of Foreign War Post 10010 is kicking off its partnership with Helena Area Habitat for Humanity with a $25,000 sponsorship to help fund the expansion of affordable housing for veterans in the area.
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“We love to build a veteran community and a strong community around our post,” said post commander Eric Dunn. “If a veteran can’t afford housing, they can’t be part of this community.”
The partnership is part of a three-year commitment between the two organizations.
The donation will help offset building costs for future homeowners while also supporting outreach programs targeting veterans.
Habitat leaders say veterans are facing the same rising costs as many Montanans.
“Veterans are an underserved population, so we want to do more,” said Helena Area Habitat for Humanity executive director Jacob Kuntz.
“A number of veterans spend their entire career living out of a seabag, bouncing around to different bases going on deployments,” Dunn explained, “so having a stable place to land when they get out of the military is huge, just for family life, for their growth after service.”
According to data from the Helena Association of Realtors, the median home price in the Helena area now hovers around a half-million dollars — making affordable homeownership increasingly out of reach for many working families and veterans.
Habitat for Humanity is currently building 12 housing units this year, with long-term plans to expand production through projects like the Rose Hills development in Helena and East Helena.
Later this month, the groups will host a homeownership workshop at the VFW 10010 Post to help veterans learn about credit, debt management, mortgages, and Habitat’s sweat-equity program.
“It's just a natural partnership that we’d work with the VFW to reach out to veterans to ensure they know that there are programs available in our community to assist with making homeownership a reality,” Kuntz said.
With Montana continuing to face a growing housing affordability crisis, both organizations say this partnership is just the beginning of a longer effort to create more opportunities for veterans and families in the community.
