“As a renter, housing insecurity is always our biggest concern. We never know when our situation is going to change. Losing your rental in Jackson is a scary reality especially with kids. Luckily, we’ve been assured we’re good for a while. We’ve, unfortunately, been priced out of the market rate housing in Jackson and even over the hill or in Star Valley - and that’s on two healthcare incomes. Trying to grow roots in this town without owning is a risky endeavor – that’s our biggest challenge.”

“My life is extremely impacted by our housing situation, as with every rent increase, I have to keep removing more from my income for rent. At one point last year, before my employment stepped up and created a housing assistance fund, I was living paycheck to paycheck and didn’t have enough funds to cover an emergency, if anything should have arised. The lack of affordable housing removes options for those of us who really want to make Jackson work, and not leave the community we have dedicated so long to cultivate and grow.”

“It’s important that we support people who play an important part in the community. If we all leave because we can’t afford to live here, we don’t have a community. A key to retaining community is reasonable growth. It’s important. If we don’t grow, our community will die out, which I saw first hand in the community that I was forced to move away from.”

“My hope for the future of the community is that the next generation trying to live in Jackson Hole won’t be talking about the same issues we’re talking about today. My hope is that we can execute on the vision for sustainable Affordable housing for the workforce. It’s the everyday worker who is the true economic engine of the community. In order to keep this place a sustainable and viable place to visit and live, it’s going to take some investment in Affordable housing initiatives.”

“I work with kids who have grown up in this community and they’re facing the stark reality the way the market is trending where they will leave to go to college but won’t be able to come back and afford a place in the community they grew up in. The fact that they won’t be able to be here in the next six years after school is high on the kids' radar. And this isn’t a new problem, there’s a lot of kids that grew up here that are my age that have moved away for opportunities but can’t move back.”

“The one thing about guides - we’re not just taking people from out of town. A lot of our clients live here. We are taking our community into the mountains and teaching them how to be safe and how to love our local ecosystem and protect it - that’s at the core of what we’re doing. We’re influencing people to protect, love, and respect this community that we’re a part of.”

"I would want anyone who supports the development of Affordable houses to know that they are going to the people who are helping to keep the wheels on the bus, per-se. These are the teachers, the trash collectors, the cooks, the cleaners, and all the people that keep the town running. We do this work not because we have to, but because we enjoy it. We need these people in our community to keep the wheels on the bus and we need these people close. There are times where emergencies have arisen, where we have an on-duty crew, but there’s only so much they can do without a large vast number of hands from the volunteer crews. To put that into perspective, when a wildland fire pops up in town - people’s houses & lives are at risk and we need our volunteer firefighters to be able to help the career staff respond in the middle of the night to an emergency and not be a county away."

“It’s better to try and keep people working in Jackson living in Jackson such as the workers at the Post Office, Starbucks, and Albertson’s to name a few. If people are forced to commute just to be able to afford living expenses, they will likely leave anyway and then we no longer have people to do the necessary work. Nobody wants to have to spend half their day waiting around for services because of a lack of workers.”

“To the people who support Affordable housing, your support is life changing. Having a home through the Community Housing Trust gave us a shot and has given us a chance for a sustainable live. There’s no chance we would have been able to afford anything in Jackson. Having this home is a life changer, it’s these life changing donations that gives us the peace of mind that we don’t have to worry about leaving. Further, we didn’t realize how much weight we held until the stress and anxiety around housing uncertainty was gone. We wish more people would get on the list.”

“For people who support Affordable housing, I want you to know that the housing issue goes back to so many basic needs that you can’t help but make a personal impact in someone’s life if that’s what you want your donations to go to – there’s so many worthy causes, but the significance of the impact in helping people find housing is immense.”

“It’s the access to public lands that keeps me here. I love the Gros Ventre Wilderness and anywhere on the river whether it’s the Snake, Gros Ventre, or Hoback – we have amazing waterways and pristine waters. I always felt that working for the Forest Service is a way to give back and get paid, which is really cool. I am doing my best as a steward of public land to improve them for the people who are living and engaging with them – whether that’s the visitors or the people who live here.”

"My hope for the future of our community is that we can build more units like mine. Housing is an issue and I know that we want to put as many units in as we can, but they need to be sustainable because we want families to stay here but they won’t because a studio can’t be grown into. More 2+ bedroom homes would help keep more people here for the long run. This is important because without our workforce able to live locally - we won’t be able to enjoy the town and our critical service providers won’t be able to provide emergency services when they’re needed.”

“My hope for the future is that Jackson doesn’t become a place to only house first responders and service workers. I hope that it can continue to be a place where families can raise their kids and be a community that includes people in professional services and other industries that are outside of hospitality. The only way that the housing issue is going to change in Jackson is through public partnerships, private philanthropy, and landowners who understand the need. Landowners and developers will need to acknowledge they could make more money with four McMansions but make the decision to partner with an organization like the CHT to build affordable homes. It will be worth it: if we want to keep the community we have, it’s necessary to have places for people to raise their families.”

“It gives me peace of mind knowing that I am in a reliable situation that I know the price isn’t going to change and nobody is going to tell me they’re putting it up for sale. Things have changed drastically over time. It wasn’t as terrible of a situation back then as it is now, we would not be able to stay here if we were in the market now because of cost and uncertainty.”

“I am so grateful for my home. Having the stability of a home has had an immense impact on my life and given me the ability to live in this amazing community that I’ve called home for the last 39 years. I wouldn’t be able to live here if it wasn’t for my home through the Community Housing Trust.”