MHA’s Jim McGrath Elected President of Montana CoC Board
MISSOULA, MT (May 11, 2023) – Jim McGrath, Director of HUD Programs at Missoula Housing Authority, elected President of Montana Continuum of Care (CoC) Board of Directors.
The CoC program is funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to promote a community-wide commitment to ending homelessness. The program is the largest source of federal grant funding for homeless services and housing programs serving people experiencing homelessness. Every community is covered by a CoC, and there are more than 400 CoCs in the U.S.
The Montana Continuum of Care Coalition, with its partners and other stakeholders, coordinates the efforts of organizations and individuals to prevent and end homelessness. The Montana CoC was established by representatives of relevant organizations throughout Montana with the responsibility of coordinating the funding and delivery of housing and services for people experiencing homelessness in its service area. These responsibilities include acting as the Collaborative Applicant for grantees across the state applying for Continuum of Care funding and operating the statewide Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), which collects and reports data on the characteristics of people experiencing homelessness and their service use patterns. In March 2023, Montana received $4,731,872 of CoC funding for 30 projects designed to promote a community-wide response to ending homelessness.
Jim McGrath was elected President of the Montana CoC Board of Directors in 2023 after serving as Vice President since 2017, an elected at-large board member since 2013, and a participant since 2007.
McGrath is the Director of HUD Programs at Missoula Housing Authority (MHA) and has been with MHA since 2005. He oversees all the HUD-funded rental assistance programs, including Housing Choice Voucher, Continuum of Care Permanent Supportive Housing, special purpose vouchers such as HUD VASH serving homeless Veterans, Mainstream vouchers serving the disabled, Foster Youth Initiative vouchers, and Emergency Housing Vouchers. He has been involved in Valor House since 2005.
McGrath has been active in Missoula’s At-risk Housing Coalition (ARHC) and the local Continuum of Care. He is a past president and vice president of the Montana chapter of NAHRO (National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials) and is currently on the national NAHRO committee International Research and Global Exchange Committee.
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About Missoula Housing Authority (MHA)
Missoula Housing Authority (“MHA”) is an independent nonprofit public organization with a portfolio of 776 rent-restricted apartments and housing choice vouchers, providing affordable housing to more than 2,300 very low-, low and middle-income veterans, families with children, elderly and disabled, foster youth and homeless, as well as working Missoulians.
MHA is the second largest public housing authority in Montana and is recognized as a progressive, forward-thinking agency that creatively implements services and uses innovative development financing. Missoula Housing Authority’s mission is to provide quality housing solutions for low and middle-income households in Missoula and the surrounding area through creative partnerships and innovative development. MHA has been creating quality housing solutions since 1978.
Contact: Sara Stout
sara@missoulahousing.org
www.missoulahousing.org