Montana
Foster youth aging out of system nationwide get help from Southwest Montana nonprofit
BUTTE — A nationwide nonprofit based in southwest Montana aims to help children who are aging out of the foster care system. As they take their next step in life, that can mean applying for college, getting a bank account, or even getting their GED.
“A lot of people don’t even think about, like, the older foster youth or what happens to the foster youth after they leave the system,” says Lacey Bailey, founder and CEO of Foster Kids United.
Bailey created Foster Kids United, an online platform that uses AI to match mentors with foster youth, to guide the kids through crucial steps that will elevate their lives after they leave foster care.
“I want to go to school for psychology so I’m working to get my GED so then I will be able to apply for college and everything,” says Leiza McIntyre, 18.
Mcintyre says she moved a lot when she was in foster care and it impacted her grades, leaving her without enough credits to graduate. She is working through the GED program with Foster Kids United, and Bailey says this is exactly the kind of need her organization seeks to address.
“We see this with a lot of former foster youth, you know, not really being able to get a good job, and then homelessness is huge because when they turn 18 they have nowhere to go. They have no family, they have no help, and so they end up on the streets,” says Bailey.
She helps them work through the sometimes complicated steps and is all too familiar with the difficulties foster youth face after aging out of the system. Bailey was in foster care from ten years old until she aged out of the system at 18.
“I really just kind of struggled with, you know, housing and school and all that and I’m trying to create a community for these foster youth to feel welcome, part of a family,” says Bailey. “We have this same shared experience of it and even though it doesn’t define us as foster kids, it really does give us that common bond.”
Foster Kids United was recently awarded $1500 from the Gianforte Family Foundation to fund the participation of five Montana foster youth in the year-long program to obtain a GED. To find out more about the programs available or to apply for the year-long GED program visit Foster Kids United.
MISSOULA, Mont. — The Clark Fork River has long been a defining feature of Missoula, shaping the city’s culture, economy and outdoor lifestyle.
The river is so closely tied to the area that it helped inspire the well-known book and film “A River Runs Through It.” But local conservation advocates say its importance goes far beyond scenery.
“Without the Clark Fork River, Missoula would just be another town,” said Lisa Ronald, Northern Rockies associate conservation director for American Rivers. “We wouldn’t be the River City. I think we’re known in Montana as Missoula the River City, and it’s really because of the Clark Fork River and its central role in business, in economics, in recreation, that really makes Missoula the town that it is.”
Carmen Murill, a field organizer with Wild Montana, said the river is deeply woven into daily life for people who live in Missoula.
“A lot of us would wonder what to do on a beautiful or a rainy summer day,” Murill said. “I mean, it’s really a lifeforce of town. And I think it’s pretty unique that Missoula, as a community is living and breathing on both sides of the river. It’s really like two downtowns but connected by the Clark Fork.”
Conservation groups say protecting the river begins with community involvement.
Advocates encourage residents and visitors to spend time outdoors, whether on a trail, in the woods or along the river, and to learn how they can become better stewards of the environment.
MISSOULA — Sam Forstag edged out Ryan Busse to secure the Democratic nomination in Montana’s 1st Congressional District.
Busse conceded the race to Forstag on Wednesday morning. Forstag had trailed behind Busse Tuesday evening, but he made up ground as the votes were counted into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Russl Cleveland and Matt Rains, are sitting at third and fourth, respectively.
Forstag leads in close race for Montana’s 1st Congressional District
Forstag spent eight years as a wildland firefighter, including four as a smokejumper, and he’s been vice president of the local National Federation of Federal Employees union. Last week, U.S. House of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, held a rally in Missoula to support Forstag’s campaign.
He told MTN on Tuesday that his campaign has been for the working class.
“We got a whole lot of people here that have been working their tail off to finally get some working-class representation in Washington,” Forstag noted. “So proud of everything we’ve done and so grateful.”
Forstag further noted he wants Montanans to be able to afford groceries, have universal free childcare and restore and expand Affordable Health Care Act subsidies.
“Hearing people’s stories and struggles and commonalities in the ways that we’re all fighting in the system that does not serve us so often, and the government serves corporations and the richest people in this country more than working people. It has been frustrating and saddening, but it has also inspired so much hope in me, like the fixes we can actually make,” he told MTN.
The 1st Congressional District covers much of western Montana, including Kalispell, Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. It is currently held by Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who chose not to seek reelection.
By securing the nomination, Forstag is slated tol face off against Libertarian candidate Nick Sheedy and Republican candidate Aaron Flint in November.
Brian Miller won the Democratic primary Tuesday for the U.S. House seat in Montana’s eastern district.
The Associated Press called the race for Miller, an attorney in Helena, who fended off a challenge from state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a longtime legislator from Box Elder, and Sam Lux, a farrier from Great Falls.
In the Republican and rural eastern district, any Democrat will be an underdog, and Miller will face off against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Troy Downing, who was unopposed Tuesday.
Libertarian Patrick McCracken is also running.
In the primary, Miller took 58% of the vote. Lux took 27% and Windy Boy took 16%, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website.
In April, Windy Boy paused his campaign amid “serious sexual abuse” allegations raised by the Montana Democratic Party — but Windy Boy restarted his campaign and later called the allegations “political attacks.”
Miller is representing the victim of the alleged abuse and her mother, although he said he didn’t take on the role until after Windy Boy initially suspended his campaign.
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