MISSOULA — Surviving without a home does not leave much room for hobbies or passions.
One resident at Blue Heron Place, a supportive housing facility on Mullan Road in Missoula, has started a community art room.
The space is proof of what is possible once people have their basic needs met.
The 30-unit apartment building runs as a partnership between two housing providers — Homeword and the Missoula Housing Authority, and two service providers — Partnership Health and the Poverello Center.
The four entities work together to provide a permanent solution to homelessness.
“You know it’s gotta be housing first, but it can’t be housing only,” Partnership Health community organizer David Quattrochi says.
Part of the program is providing various supportive resources, including counseling, recovery groups, and access to new hobbies and activities.
Blue Heron’s newest addition, a community art room, was started by resident Aubrey Goetz.
“I know a lot of people come from the same place that I was trying to get my head out of, and it helped me in art,” she says. “So I know a lot of other people who now are out of that place, and we need somewhere to put ourselves.”
While it’s given her peace now, creating art was the last thing on her mind while living outside, Goetz says.
“When you’re out there it feels like you’re just existing, and you’re trying to make sure that that stays a thing, I guess,” she says. “It’s a survival thing, like you don’t even have time for that in your head, really.”
Goetz moved into Blue Heron Place in October and is now neighbors with many of the people she spent time with while experiencing homelessness. She says transitioning to her new way of life has been strange.
“It’s just silly to think of like, little things that you learn again, like I’ll keep my jacket on all the time inside my house, or sometimes I fall asleep with my shoes on still,” she says.
While adjusting to having a place to call home, Goetz has been active in the Blue Heron community, according to Quattrocchi. She’s quick to contribute ideas and perspectives to make the facility a better place.
“You look for that spark in the community, like we know that Aubrey brought whatever she was struggling with in here, and she knows the way out of that,” Quattrocchi says. “Like she knows we need art, we need community, we need to build together.”
The community art room aligns with the Blue Heron’s mission to be more than just a housing facility.
Some people will need more support than just a place to sleep, according to Quattrocchi, and having a activity to put energy into can help make the transition permanent.
Goetz has been able to find a new passion through art, and recently sold her first piece at a First Friday event at the Western Montana LGBTQ+ Community Center. Work from multiple Blue Heron residents was shown at the event.
“That colors this town, and you know when we talk about keeping any town weird or vibrant– an artists community, like, we were missing 30 units of housing worth of residents of that while people were struggling to survive, and now everybody benefits,” Quattrocchi says.
The art room is in need of any sort of donated art supplies, and Goetz is hoping for future collaboration with the art community.
Art supply donations can be dropped off at Blue Heron Place which is located at 2210 Mullan Road in Missoula.
