skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump hosts UK prime minister at White House for critical talks on Ukraine; Low marks for NC Congress members in 2024 conservation scorecard; Why carbon offsets often don't work, explained; Ohio regional transit group plans shift to 'green' hydrogen for bus fleet; 'Egg-citing' ID bill lowers barriers for raising backyard chickens.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Senate Republicans say they'll change the House's budget resolution. Trump questions whether he called the Ukrainian President a dictator ahead of his White House visit and environmentalists question Lee Zeldin's call for deregulation.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The federal funding freeze has left U.S. farmers in limbo about their future farm projects, tourists could find public lands in disarray when visiting this summer, while money to fight rural wildfires is in jeopardy.

Legal Aid Among Services to Take On Youth Homelessness in MT

play audio
Play

Monday, February 28, 2022   

A federal grant is helping Montana tackle homelessness among the state's young people.

The Treasure State was chosen as a rural recipient of a $3.4 million grant from the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project, created by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Nichole Heyer is navigator of the project for Montana Legal Services Association. She said it's unique for a legal organization to be associated with the project - and important because legal services can be barriers to getting housed.

Heyer said working with a landlord, for instance, can be tough for young people.

"The power dynamics within the relationship of a landlord and a tenant are pretty skewed," said Heyer, "just given that this person decides whether you get to remain in their rental or not."

Heyer said young people don't always understand their legal rights or responsibilities when they enter a contract with a landlord.

The lack of responsiveness from landlords to habitability issues - such as water not working properly or leaks - is common, she said. Emancipation for people under the age of 18 so they can seek mental-health care is another common issue.

The effort also is getting input from young people with lived experiences. Brandon Anderson is part of the Youth Action Board and said it would have been nice to know resources existed for him and others on the board.

"We all struggled with homelessness when we were younger," said Anderson. "And none of us knew about any of the services that we could really find, because it just felt like we were forgotten. So we're just trying to make sure that we can help other people that are caught in a similar situation and make it a little bit easier."

Dani Mayeaux also is on the board. She said treating people who are struggling with homelessness with kindness is key.

"The most important thing is just realizing that they're still people," said Mayeaux. "They're not just homeless. They could be an artist, they could be a musician, they could be a chemist for all we know, and it's just when life gets tough we just have to be empathetic and supportive of people."

Heyer said housing advocates in the program provide a range of services to young adults as part of the program, including case management and work readiness.

"When you've got a team of people working from different angles to address these barriers," said Heyer, "that's when things really get done and we can get kids housed and keep them safe."

According to project data, a quarter of participants have exited to permanent housing.



Disclosure: Montana Legal Services Association contributes to our fund for reporting on Civil Rights, Human Rights/Racial Justice, Poverty Issues, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
National parks such as Yosemite are bracing for the busy season even as they lose staff in the Trump administration's plan to reduce the federal workforce. (Greg Pickens/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A lawsuit to halt the firing of probationary federal workers gets a hearing before a district court judge in San Francisco this afternoon, even as …


Environment

play sound

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved a permit to expand Ridge Breeze Dairy in Salem despite hundreds of local objections…

Social Issues

play sound

Environmental projects are restarting as advocates praise Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for suing the Trump administration, leading to the release …


Social Issues

play sound

Coloradans who want to help move the needle on homelessness can still sign up for a lobbying day next Tuesday at the State Capitol. Cathy Alderman…

The 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities served by the American Indian College Fund have a combined enrollment of nearly 22,000 students across 13 states. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

A new report says North Dakota's five tribal colleges contribute nearly $170 million to the state's economy. But any positive news is overshadowed by …

Social Issues

play sound

More than 14,000 incarcerated people in Washington are not able to vote and two bills in Olympia aim to change it. One bill would make voting more …

play sound

Environmental advocates are waiting for results from legislation passed last year, regulating the use of industrial sludge from flowing into …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021