Poverllo Center steps in to manage Temporary Safe Outdoor Space
Martin Kidston
(Missoula Current) An outdoor space created during the pandemic to allow authorized camping for Missoula's homeless has evolved over the past few years, providing more services to help residents move into safe and secure housing.
Now, the Temporary Safe Outdoor Space (TSOS) has gained a new partner in the Poverello Center, which will take up its new post in November. The organization will fill the role once held by the Hope Rescue Missoula.
“The Poverello Center has agreed to take over operations,” said Missoula County CAO Chris Lounsbury. “They'll continue their partnership with the United Way of Missoula County around the operational pieces of that.”
The agreement is set for two years and begins on Nov. 1. The facility is currently closed as bathrooms donated by the City of Missoula are installed at the TSOS.
The bathrooms were purchased by the city several years ago to serve the former Johnson Street shelter.
“That instillation is in progress as we speak,” Lounsbury said.
The TSOS was set up at its current location off Mullan Road in collaboration with the United Way and Hope Rescue Missoula to provide a safe outdoor location for those experiencing homelessness. Since then, the county, said the TSOS has become a model in how to serve the homeless while connecting them to housing resources and case managers.
The facility serves up to 40 people at a time and has seen a number of upgrades since it opened in 2020. Residents will begin moving back in early November.
“No single organization can solve homelessness on its own,” Jill Bonny, executive director of the Poverello Center, said in a statement.
“TSOS is a good example of what’s possible when local government, nonprofits and service providers work together around practical solutions. The Poverello Center is excited to take on this role and continue working with our community partners to help people move from homelessness into stable housing.”
The two-year, $800,000 agreement with the Poverello Center will be funded through the repayment of mental health funding the County loaned to Western Montana Mental Health Center in 2023. Much of that funding dates back to the American Rescue Plan Act, the county said.
“It took a lot of work to get here,” said Missoula County Commission Josh Slotnick.