Montana Housing Partnership Conference

The Myrtle Quincy family purchased the first NSP funded home in Montana

Rick Garcia, Regional Administrator, Region VIII, Denver, Colorado along with Assistant Secretary John Trasviña, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Washington, D.C. were honored guest speakers at the 2010 Montana Housing Partnership Conference on June 16, that brought together real estate professionals, builders, housing counselors, community partners, local and state officials in Helena, MT. Mr. Garcia received an award on behalf of the Department for HUD's 30 years of support and partnerships with NeighborWorks Montana, formally Neighborhood Housing Services.

In addition to receiving an award, Garcia honored five Housing Counselors across the state of Montana for their outstanding work in homeownership education, rental, foreclosure and housing counseling.

Mr. Garcia met with Tribal Leaders to discuss off reservation discrimination and strategize ways for the department to partner with the tribes to address this. He also met with Carroll College for a discussion about University Partnerships. The Regional Administrator joined a bus tour provided by the Montana Home Choice Coalition, and visited Don LiePier one of several new homeowners recognized on this tour.

Montana HomeChoice Coalition is instrumental in creating affordable housing opportunities leveraging HUD's Section 8 Voucher Program for people with disabilities across the state of Montana.