A grassroots organization dedicated to building public awareness around housing issues has formed in Whitefish.

Nathan Dugan, Mallory Phillips, Ellie McMann make up the board of Shelter WF, which aims to share resources and advocate for affordable housing in an effort to assist with the issue.

Phillips grew up in Whitefish. In 2016, she and Dugan had to move away for work and when they returned in June last year, they found that nearly everyone they knew, including the friends Phillips had grown up with, didn’t live in Whitefish anymore because housing was too expensive.

The median sale price for a home in Whitefish in May was $645,000, according to the Montana Regional MLS, and in April it was $990,000. In Whitefish, there are 10 two-bedroom units currently advertised online with an average rent listed of $3,200.

The National Low-Income Housing Coalition says fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $923 per month.

The industry standard for affordable housing is that it should not be more than 30% of the owner or renter’s annual income.

Dugan began attending City Council meetings. He found that typically, there is a homogeneous group of people who show up to comment positively and negatively on the issues and many people share negative thoughts about housing.

“I do feel like there is a war on renters in Whitefish right now and there are some people who would be totally fine if there were no renters in Whitefish,” Dugan said. “We’re trying to push back against that.”

Shelter WF aims to update the city’s growth policy to allow for more multi-family housing in Whitefish and to reintroduce mixed-income neighborhoods. They advocate for attainable rental homes and have long-term goals of affordable ownership options for current and future locals who earn average and below-average wages.

“Something we need to remember when we talk about housing -- a common refrain from folks in the service industry is they are not super engaged in the political process in Whitefish because a lot of them believe they are not going to be a part of this community in the future. They don't have a lot of hope they will have housing here, either rental or purchase, so there’s a lot of apathy when it comes to this stuff,” Phillips explained. “So we are trying to create a space in which people feel empowered to get involved and feel hopeful that maybe there will be a way they can stay in the community they work in and that they love.”

Dugan joined Phillips and McMann in April of this year to form Shelter WF, a nonprofit modeled on a similar organization in Jackson, Wyoming, to formalize what they were already doing by being involved in housing issues at a local level. They are an organization that is fighting for housing and fighting for increasing the supply of rentals and affordable ownership units from a political advocacy standpoint.

“We realize there is an undercurrent of people that would like to see some more rental options and affordable purchase options for people. We formed Shelter WF to give those people a voice and to help guide them and give them resources so they can feel comfortable using their voice to advocate for some of these things,” Dugan said. “I think our value is making it easy for people to comment [at Council meetings] and know what's going on, submit letters and stand up and speak if they want to.”

The Shelter WF website lists some of the issues surrounding the housing crisis and Dugan says many can be tied to climate. He would like to see development that is more concentrated around the core of the city so people have the opportunity to walk or bike, not drive and add to the traffic and the downtown parking problems.

He advocates for more thoughtful uses of land within the city, areas with existing infrastructure, before expanding further out.

“We’d like to see more rentals, for sure,” Dugan concluded. “We’re just watching those go away and not being replaced in any meaningful way, so that’s the primary thing we’re fighting for in the short term.”

Last month, Shelter WF had 30 members and started holding monthly meetings so people can share housing stories and learn more about getting involved. The founding members are educated and have well-paying jobs, as well as disheartening, yet typical housing stories.

McMann spent her first 13 years living in Whitefish. After her parents divorced, she lived in affordable housing with her mother who worked as a teacher. Soon thereafter, the family moved to Texas for a more affordable cost of living.

“We lived in affordable housing in Whitefish, on a teacher's income. Now, those apartments are not affordable anymore,” McMann said. “I moved back here in September of 2021 and had the same issue everyone else is having - a really hard time finding an apartment. I was completely priced out of the market.”

Phillips and Dugan say they were “super lucky” to have been able to buy a house in Whitefish when they returned in 2021. The pair had bought a house in Kellogg, Idaho, and claimed having that equity was the only way they were able to secure housing here, along with fortunate timing.

“As we explore housing, economic integration in neighborhoods and apartment buildings is important,” Phillips offered. “When you have people from different backgrounds that have had different viewpoints and different lives, it brings around more empathy and adds to the connection to community and that's what we’re losing in Whitefish as it becomes more homogenous economically.”

McMann and Phillips discussed the changes in Whitefish since they were kids growing up here and McMann noted there is far less economic diversity here now than there was when they were children.

“It goes hand in hand with the political polarization that we’ve seen lately,” Dugan added. “We don't live next to people that are different anymore across the country. It is definitely a challenge that needs to be addressed.”

“In order to make real change in Whitefish, the people that live here need to start reimagining what their neighborhoods can look like so that more people are welcome,” Phillips said.

For more information on Shelter WF, visit https://www.shelterwf.org/

or find Shelter WF on Facebook