New transitional housing for unhoused Vets draws closer to reality in Missoula

The Poverello Center in Missoula has major plans to enhance its housing program for area veterans.

With the support of the Veterans Administration and community partners like Town Pump, the Poverello Center has operated “Housing Montana Heroes” since 2014. The program provides transitional supportive housing for unhoused veterans. Participants work with case managers who help them “identify and achieve goals that help them on their journey towards permanent housing,” said Stephanie Dolan, director of development for the Poverello Center.

In 2019, the Poverello Center purchased the Clark Fork Inn with the intent to relocate the program to a new facility. This new location will move the program out of the Poverello Center's main building into 20 single occupancy apartments with a community room and kitchen, and private spaces to meet with case managers and other services providers on the campus.

Montana has one of the highest percentages of veterans per capita, hovering around 10 percent for much of the last few decades. According to the American Community Survey and a point-in-time survey from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, about 7.8 percent of the nearly 85,000 veterans in Montana live in poverty and 27 percent of them have a service-connected disability rating. In 2022, the federal government estimated that about 172 Montana veterans were homeless.

“As the only transitional supportive housing for unhoused veterans, we are thrilled to be a part of Missoula's Built for Zero initiative to end homelessness for veterans,” Dolan said.

Currently, the Poverello Center is fundraising to close the gap on funding needs for the project and is expecting to start construction in, she said. “We are so grateful for the support of Town Pump on this initiative,” Dolan said.

Learn more at townpumpfoundation.com.

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