MISSOULA — People will soon have access to Missoula's Temporary Safe Outdoor Space (TSOS) again, but this time the program will be under the Poverello Center's leadership since Hope Rescue Mission wound down its operations.
After a two-month closure, TSOS will soon start a new chapter of helping people transition out of homelessness and into housing. Formerly managed by United Way of Missoula County and Hope Rescue Mission, the Pov now plans to build upon their foundation.
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“We're really taking from what Hope Rescue Mission has been doing over the past several years, looking at what has worked and, you know, maybe what has not worked over the years," Jill Bonny, the Poverello Center's executive director, said.
The Pov is partnering with Missoula County for operations at TSOS, which is located on county-owned land at Mullan Road and Broadway.
Chris Lounsbury, Missoula County's chief administrative officer, said the site will now offer renovated bathroom facilities from the former Johnson Street Shelter.
"With the transition period between Hope Rescue Mission and the Poverello Center, it gave us the ability to kind of close the site for a two month period so we could do that work," he said.
Missoula TSOS will offer regular meetings with a case manager or adviser and connections to an abundance of resources.
“We partner with folks like the Housing Authority through Blue Heron or Navigation Center, those pieces to get folks connected to those resources," Lounsbury added. "But it gives them a place that they can call home while they're in that middle space."
The Pov is taking on the project with years of experience running transitional housing for veterans. Their goal is to take charge of TSOS, which houses approximately 35 to 40 people at a time, for the long term and maintain its success rate.
"Usually between 40 and 55% of people who leave the temporary safe outdoor space are going into stable housing," Bonny said.
Some guidelines are still being worked out ahead of the target reopening date of Nov. 1.
Bonny added there is not an exact time limit for how long people stay at the TSOS.
"If I compare it to our veteran programs, they can live there for up to two years," she said. "I think as long as people are working towards a goal and making progress, then, you know, a time limit like that makes sense."
Anyone who is ready to do the work needed to make a leap towards stable housing can benefit from the program, according to Bonny.
“Not only do we want to make sure they get into housing, but we want to make sure that once they're there, that they're stable and can stay in housing," she said.
Missoula County will help fund the program for the next two years, but the Poverello Center is also committed to finding other streams of revenue.
"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," a Missoula County press release stated.
You can read more about Missoula County and the Poverello Center's partnership by clicking here. You can also learn more about the TSOS and the requirements for staying there by visiting here.
