Missoula’s Plan to End Homelessness:

Over a decade ago Missoula set out to end homelessness. At that time it could have been done more easily than it can now. The change in housing desirability has increased the price of housing. People are buying houses here for more money because it is nestled in between mountains full of hiking trails, ski slopes, and mountain biking courses. There are three rivers that run through the Missoula Valley that bring opportunities to fish, boat, and swim. There are adorable shops and amazing businesses throughout this town that have really enhanced how dynamic Missoula is. You can find float houses, trampoline parks, indoor pools, ice skating, 550 acres of city parks, and an active art community. 

Missoula does not have reasonable low income rentals. There is a population of people that started receiving Social Security benefits when they were young, did not work much to add to their benefit payout, and now have $800 a month they live on. This amount qualifies most people for food stamps, housing vouchers, property tax reduction, and Medicaid. To be on social security early in life often changes how much you are eligible for. Many of the people I have met that live on a small amount can not increase the amount they get for Social Security without making more money. If a person goes back to work they eventually lose their disability payment, but often can keep Medicaid. Going back to work may also end up with the person needing to take time off again, which would lead them to needing to contact the social security administration.  Whether someone decides to go back to work, or live off of what they qualify for, they will need one or two roommates to afford housing. This is also why we have a large population of people turning to illegal drug sales currently.

Solving homelessness involves changing the models we use, to address issues that arise within people’s lives. I have spoken to many people that were put on disability for depression and anxiety, and never started working again. The way the community helped them handle the stress events they were going through made it so they relied on a lifestyle that brings in $800 a month. Due to the model, of telling people they can’t do something if they feel stress, we now have a bunch of people that feel stress easily living lives that have a lot of stress. 

What is the plan then? Nothing, or design something sustainable. We have lost a considerable amount of resources. There are no housing vouchers. The current federal administration is making cuts that will definitely impede our ability to continue throwing resources at something that needs redesigned to even sustain itself. I suggest that we shift our model immediately to be honest and respectful of all people, and to keep from creating bad solutions brought on by future imbalances. 

There have been many issues within the shelters around behaviors that have started expanding into the rest of the community. If Missoula is gong to find a way to fund shelters the community and the shelter should be respected. This town has everything that a person could need to get back up, and that is how it has always been. Missoula helps people move forward. 

If you are staying at one of the shelters you are expected to follow the rules. There have been complaints that people are being targeted and pushed out for not following the gangs that live within. Every person living within this nation is expected to show their fellow respect. Harming anyone anywhere within this nation can get you jail time, fines, or sleeping in freezing weather. I have spoken to too many people that had other people start fights with them to get them kicked out into the cold for 30 days. That is unacceptable.  The shelters are a privilege, not a right. There have been many things brought to my attention about the issues within the lack of structure around our homeless services. These issue don’t just include safety, but also the success rate of the people that are trying to get back into a life that they can flow with.

The structure of what these shelters do, to the behaviors of the people that use them, should be addressed when the town speaks about what they want to see in the community. I feel that the correct way to address this is for the town to quiet down about our resource stock and help the people here find housing, jobs, help with cleaning up their credit while saving for housing, and getting medical attention. This community has absolutely everything needed to have people be successful faster, we just need to apply what we have to people’s lives in a more structured manner to get people out of homelessness sooner. 

We can not help people that do not want to be helped. The days of allowing people to feel protected doing drugs in our parks are gone and I fully support using harsher consequences if the town’s public spaces are not respected. The City Parks Staff stated earlier this year that they had picked up 5 gallon buckets full of needles in the parks. Many of us have wanted to give up and quit too, we get it. We are all going to move forward together now. The moment you had laying in that dark spot is over. When you are ready please start thinking about the ways you can start paying off bills, saving money, and cleaning up your credit. If you need extra help there are great social workers in the area that are usually covered by Medicaid. 

We got this together, honestly.

Brandi Atanasoff

February 18, 2025