SigMT

SiG MT 64 A good neighbor may be the one you don't even notice—quiet, unobtrusive, perhaps rarely seen across the fence or field. A great neighbor watches over your property, stands up for the community, and actively improves it through hard work and vision. NeighborWorks Great Falls (NWGF) is that kind of neighbor. e nonprofit organization offers homebuyers, renters, and homeowners an array of services, from advising on how to prevent foreclosure, to helping residents build or rent that first home. Executive Director Sherrie Arey explains, "We started 40 years ago, providing homeowner loans and rehabbing blighted homes, then expanded to include affordable housing development and community revitalization programs." Over 40 years, NWGF has: • Renovated or removed 500 blighted properties • Helped more than 2,200 first-time homebuyers purchase a home • Completed 41 High School Houses and 135 Owner Built Homes Programs include homebuyer education, which graduates 300 residents annually; financial assistance, coaching, and counseling; and rental housing development, such as the new Rockcress Commons—a 124-apartment, multi-family complex on 24th Avenue South. Nearby, NeighborWorks is developing Meriwether Crossing, a community of single-family homes. KEEPING PACE WITH HIGH SCHOOL HOUSE Across town, Pete Pace, Great Falls Public Schools industrial technology teacher, supervises Great Falls and CMR High School students in the construction of NeighborWorks' High School House. "It's an amazing program; I'm grateful that I get to do this," Pace says, now in his ninth year with the program. e current build, at 1724 4th Avenue South, will be completed in May. e High School House is a collaboration of NeighborWorks, the city, and GFPS. Students do most of the actual labor while the city contributes community development funding. NeighborWorks, LIKE A GREAT NEIGHBOR, NEIGHBORWORKS IS HERE By Denise Czuprynski Photography Sara Young NeighborWorks helped spearhead the Great Falls downtown mural project. From left, Carol Bronson, Katie Batterbee, and Sherrie Arey

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