Advocates ramp up march to end veteran homelessness in Missoula

Martin Kidston

(Missoula Current) During a 60-day sprint held over the holidays in 2024, the city's housing team successfully placed 12 homeless veterans into housing, taking a small step toward a larger goal of ending veteran homelessness in Missoula.

Why truly ending homelessness may be an ongoing challenge, housing advocates are tapping into a library of resources to ensure the city's population of homeless vets find the service and housing they need.

“Functional zero is a way to count down to an end goal. It's a goal we're trying to reach,” said Dylan Barbash, the city's Built for Zero specialist. “We're not ever going to completely end veteran homelessness, but our ability to house those within the system should be quick and responsive.”

The housing sprint launched by the city two years ago is counting down to Veterans Day this November to functionally end veteran homelessness in Missoula. The goal is couched in the Built for Zero program, its team comprised of Poverello staff, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Missoula Housing Authority and the United Way of Missoula County, among others.

After years of work, the city received a grant in 2024 to staff up its Built for Zero push. The effort relies on system resources and the dedication of staff in the steady march toward functional zero.

“Veterans do have a service landscape that's more specific or targeted than other populations. There are whole organizations at all levels of government that dedicate resources to veterans,” said Emily Armstrong, the city's Houseless Programs manager.

“We should be able help when we have the services available to serve this population well. If we're not doing that as a community, we need to be asking ourselves why. That's why we started with veterans.”

Signs of Success

The visual goal of ending veteran homeless hangs as a poster over Barbash's bed at home. It serves as a daily reminder of the task at hand and the difference a bit of focused help can make in an individual's life. And so far, there's been signs of progress.

During the Housed for the Holidays sprint in 2024 – a push to place as many veterans into housing over a 60-day window – local advocates successfully found housing for 12 individuals. It was more than any other city that participated in the sprint.

To date, Barbash said, the local effort has reduced veteran homelessness by roughly 49% over the last three years. When the program started, the city had 96 actively homeless veterans. By January of this year, that figure had been reduced to 49 individuals.

“That represents nearly a 50% decline in unhoused veterans,” said Barbash. “I think, more so, it represents how much we've come together as a community and have pushed to quickly get people into housing, and address the needs of those coming up, newly identified in our system. We still have more work to do.”

Despite the program's promise, the effort remains strapped by a number of challenges ranging from finances to the reluctant participation of some local landlords and property managers.

If Built for Zero is going to reach its full potential, Barbash said, it's going to need all hands on deck.

“We need resources to continue on our progress,” Barbash said. “We need private landlords and property management companies that are willing to work with houseless veterans. We also need donations to the Veteran Housing Fund.”

Like much of the effort, that too lands on the shoulders of local advocates. To date, the fund has raised $12,000 with a goal of reaching $60,000 or more.

Getting Housed

Early in the housing sprint, Barbash worked with a veteran who was priced out of housing in Seattle. He moved to Missoula to be closer to family. Initially, the individual found temporary housing at the Poverello's Housing Montana's Heros program.

The veteran also accepted case management and began searching for a job, along with permanent housing.

“I called around to a lot of different property management companies. We kept hearing about units not being available for the clients we work with,” Barbash said. “But we were able to hold four units during the housing sprint. This veteran applied to one of the units and ended up getting accepted into one of those units.”

That effort was supported by Veterans of America and a housing voucher provided by the VA.

“He's still in housing to this day,” Barbash said. “He's working on next steps and what he wants to do for the rest of his life. It does take a community to get someone into housing.”

The Built for Zero program relies heavily on three primary programs including the United Way of Missoula County's Veteran Housing Fund, and a rapid rehousing program operated by Volunteers of America and Veterans Inc. That effort provides case management and six months of rental assistance, along with other support.

But of all the pathways, the VA's permanent supportive housing voucher may be the biggest, Barbash said. Known as HUDVASH, the program also comes with case management.

Under the VA program, advocates have been able to get nearly all qualified veterans into housing. But even that program is limited, Barbash said.

“There's about 500 HUDVASH vouchers across the state of Montana. We have about 10 left,” he said. “It's a great problem to have. It means we're doing our job well. We're connecting people to a resource. But it also requires us to think more creatively and critically on who we elevate for a resource, and how we get people into housing.”

Growing the Veteran Housing Fund will also be key in pursuing function zero by November 11. By Veterans Day, advocates want to see all veterans housed, but funding is needed to do so, Barbash said.

“The fund helps fill gaps in our system and makes sure we can at least provide some help to every person on our list, even if they're not eligible for vouches,” said Barbash, “We can at least provide them some level of support to help get them into a unit, and they can sustain on their own.”