As Missoula's International Rescue Committee continues to navigate a difficult local housing climate, the agency — the state's only refugee resettlement organization — said it is only resettling people with local connections for the summer season.

The IRC Missoula helps refugees and others seeking asylum adjust to their new lives in the U.S. via connecting them with housing, employment and other social services. Currently, the local agency is restricting new arrivals to people with existing ties to family and friends already in Montana, IRC Missoula Deputy Director Eamon Fahey said in an email to the Missoulian.

The agency plans to resume resettling people without U.S. ties in the next fiscal year, which starts in October 2024.

A family mingles outside Missoula IRC's new location on South Russell Street during an open house on May 5, 2023. 

IRC Missoula has also requested they receive most people in the first two quarters of the next fiscal year, from October to March, when there are both more temporary and permanent housing options in Missoula, Fahey said.

“This decision enables us to better serve our clients by keeping housing costs lower,” Fahey said.

The affordable housing shortage is a persistent challenge for new refugees in Missoula and across the U.S. and other newcomers, he explained, though there's more inventory this year than in the past, which has given the agency some more options for where families can live. IRC staff works to reduce housing costs for newly arrived families.

“Specifically, the IRC has ensured most refugees arrive in the winter months when housing is more affordable, invested in a robust housing team, and worked with housing partners on innovative solutions for temporary housing,” Fahey said.

“This shortage can be a significant barrier for new arrivals who are just rebuilding their lives in America,” he said. “Families must have stable housing while they pursue self-sufficiency through employment and education opportunities.”

The IRC Missoula has received four cases consisting of 17 individuals since April 1, 2024, according to Fahey. He said all arrivals since April have found permanent housing. From April 1 to mid-June 2023, they received 12 cases consisting of 49 individuals representing 41% of IRC Missoula’s total arrivals for the 2023 fiscal year.

Fahey said the agency is on track to resettle its expected number of refugees for 2024.

The agency’s successes are well documented in Missoula. According to an impact report for IRC Missoula released this week, from October 2022 to September 2023, 120 newly arrived refugees were resettled from five countries. Of those, 31 people were reunited with family.

Last year, the bulk of people resettled in Montana came from Syria (about 53.3%) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with some families from Afghanistan, Yemen and Iran.

Last summer, the Missoulian reported IRC Missoula requested a pause on new arrivals citing a lack of suitable housing for refugees. The IRC receives federal funding under a mandate to secure safe, sanitary and affordable housing at market rate for refugees when they arrive. Typically, the hope is for adults to land jobs that equip them with the resources to eventually pay their own rent.

According to the Missoula Organization of Realtors, the median cost of rent in Missoula rose from $772 a month in 2017 to $1044 a month in 2022, a 35% increase. In that same time period, the median home sales price rose from $262,000 to $520,000, a 94% increase.

From October 2022 to September 2023, IRC Missoula reported they got 31 home setups done for newly arrived families. They worked with 12 property management companies around town, according to the report.

"More work needs to be done to address the shortage of affordable housing, both locally and nationally," Fahey said. "Leaders from government, nonprofit, and business must work together to solve this pressing issue."