Montana City Featured On National PBS Show

An episode of PBS News Weekend aired on Sunday, April 21. This edition featured topics such as NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg commenting on if the United States's aid to Ukraine was too late, a Supreme Court case on a potential restructuring of homelessness policy across the country and "a look at the tensions in one Montana city over people experiencing homelessness  camping in vehicles."

The feature, narrated by PBS Montana's Joe Lasar, highlights a couple living in their camper parked on the side of a road in Bozeman, Montana. It's a humanizing story for those faced with difficult challenges regarding issues Montana has seen in recent years - costs of living and limited affordable housing. It explains what Bozeman has done to combat homelessness without, in their eyes, completely disregarding homeless individuals.

Comments from Bozeman Mayor Terry Cunningham, city officials and community members are also seen in the video.

Though Bozeman was featured, it easily could have been Missoula. Our own Peter Christian has been reporting on Missoula's homeless topics.

READ MORE: Missoula Urban Camping Working Group Takes Public Comments

READ MORE: Survey Says There Are 597 'Homeless Households' In Missoula

READ MORE: Inside Look At Missoula's Homelessness Crisis

A full description of the feature on Bozeman can be found below.

"In some cities with growing numbers of people experiencing homelessness, the issue goes beyond encampments in public places - they're also coping with more people living in cars and RVs parked on city streets. City leaders in Bozeman, Montana, are dealing with tensions brought on by this more visible display of homelessness. Joe Lesar of Montana PBS reports."

For us in Montana, we know about the homeless debates, but for those in different parts of the country, they may have no idea. They may see Montana as simply a vacation spot for outdoors connoisseurs. Hopefully, this can shed some light on those around the country with no prior knowledge.