Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1259963
SiG MT 66 Today, Long, husband Robert, and their two teenage sons Chris and Leo still enjoy the home they built. Each year they celebrate the home with a toast on New Year's Eve, just as they had in 2010 on a framed, unfinished living room floor, long before the house was complete. "It's everything I ever could have asked for, a dream come true," Long gleams. "We were out every single day, helping all the neighbors with everything that needed to be done. It was phenomenal, a great way to get to know your neighbors." Ten years later, those same neighbors are still friends. "We're a close-knit neighborhood; we look out for each other," she says. "I'm still in awe that Great Falls has something like this to offer." COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS Bob Kelly, mayor of Great Falls, appreciates the organization as well. "NeighborWorks Great Falls has been an incredible community partner for decades," Kelly says, citing "the wonderful, affordable homes they have built in the downtown area, the High School Houses, and the home buyer education programs" as important contributors to home ownership and affordable, quality rentals. ere's another side to NWGF, however, that's less well known, according to Arey. e organization provides a growing list of community engagement services. She says, "ese programs help not just individuals and families, they strengthen the whole community," pointing to Coins for a Cause, the new Downtown Great Falls mural project, and the annual MApril area cleanup event as examples of NWGF's involvement. "We're always looking for ways to revitalize the community," Arey notes. NeighborWorks' Carol Bronson oversees these outreach efforts, working with local law enforcement agencies, the city, schools, neighborhood councils, and local residents. "We started doing MApril with 25 homes in 1983…the program now extends 57 miles," Bronson says. In 2019, volunteers removed 38 tons of garbage from Cascade County during the MApril cleanup. NWGF Marketing and Real Estate Director Katie Baerbee explains, "Our overall goal is improving the community, making neighborhoods safer, and engaging residents." And that's what being a great neighbor is all about. Denise Czuprynski has been writing and editing her full career in marketing and communications. She feels proud and blessed to call Cascade, Montana her home. S MT Tiffany Long, husband Robert, and family consider their Owner Built Home "a dream come true." The new Rockcress Commons complex offers 1, 2, and 3-bedroom apartments. Through the Owner Built Homes Program, groups of families work together to help build each others' houses, thus making homes more affordable.