DEER LODGE — The issue of affordable housing has been a problem for communities across Montana, but in Deer Lodge, a new housing complex is helping to solve that problem for employees of the Montana State Prison.
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"It’s a big stress relief. We came up here in the camper, and we were thankful for that, but just something that’s not camping anymore, you know? We’re going to be able to sleep in our own bed. So that’s going to be great," says Stephanie Erb.
Erb and her husband Kenneth are correctional officers at the prison. She says it was hard to find housing when she started her job in January.
"It’s a safe space...a short way to work. It’s a place to call home," says Erb.
In 2023 Montana legislators allocated funding to create workforce housing through the Montana Reinvestment Plan Act. Seventy percent of the 28-unit complex is available to prison employees, while thirty percent is available to Montana State Hospital employees.
"It’s mostly for retention of employees to help assist at the state hospital and Montana State Prison," says Howard Wigert, a captain at the Montana State Prison.
Wigert is in charge of recruitment and retention at the state prison. He says employees are given a five-year lease at the complex and will be eligible for down payment assistance toward the purchase of a new home.
"It’s a stepping stone to get them into more permanent housing as we go," says Wigert.
Arielle Haro began working at the prison as a correctional officer at the end of 2024, she walks through her new townhouse and points out what she'll do with the space.
"I love it. It’s a lot more than what I expected. I didn’t think it was going to be this spacious or nice. It makes me feel like an adult a little bit. Like a big girl house, so its nice," says Haro.
She and Erb are already planning neighborhood cookouts in the communal space located in the back of the complex.
"I’m thinking of getting all the neighbors and, like, getting a... like a big table or something," says Haro.
"We’re not only coworkers now, we’re neighbors, so it goes to a different level of, you know, being there for each other," says Erb.
Construction for the entire facility is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
