Johnson Street Community Center Shelter Neighborhood Meeting

Please join us at a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday, August 22, at 6 p.m. at the Franklin School gym to discuss the reopening of the Johnson Street Community Center Shelter. This will be an informational public meeting with representatives from the City of Missoula, the Poverello Center, and Black Knight Security and Investigation available to provide details and answer questions.

Beginning in mid-September, the City of Missoula, Missoula County, and the Poverello Center are again partnering to provide the emergency shelter program in the same location at 1919 North Ave. W. for one year. The Poverello Center’s trained, professional staff will operate the shelter. The shelter will serve one hot meal every day, with sack lunches available. The Johnson Street shelter will be staffed and open around the clock, except for one hour in the morning when it will be closed for cleaning. A local security company will work to secure public safety on the shelter property and in neighboring City parks and on trails throughout the tenure of the program. The staff at the shelter will do all they can to be a good neighbor. This is a top priority. We recognize that the shelter’s presence brings successes and challenges to the community. We appreciate the neighborhood’s patience as we continue the program for another year and move towards future permanent solutions. We know this shelter impacts the neighborhood, and we encourage the neighbors to reach out with questions and problems.

Missoula is experiencing a houselessness emergency. This emergency, during which many people in Missoula are living without shelter, affects every member of the Missoula community. Our housing crisis, combined with a short supply of shelter space and sharp increases in home prices and monthly rental rates, has led the City of Missoula and Missoula County to act. The reopening of the Johnson Street shelter is the emergency response that makes the most sense in the short term. The City of Missoula owns the building, it is outfitted to serve as a shelter and our contractor, the Poverello Center, is experienced at providing shelter and services there. The shelter is funded by the City and the County through August of 2024.

This is not a permanent solution, and City staff and area partners are exploring the needs and the options.

In 2020, 2021 and 2022, the City of Missoula established an expanded Emergency Winter Shelter Program at the Johnson Street Community Center with support from Missoula County. This temporary shelter served up to 165 people each night during the winter months, initially in response to the pandemic. It preserved hundreds of lives of individuals who otherwise may have frozen to death in bitter temperatures. The Poverello Center continues to turn people away most nights because it is full. The Mayor, Missoula City Council members, and the Missoula County Commissioners believe a strong community comes together to help those in need. Though the 2020 emergency shelter was thought to be a temporary, one-year endeavor, the life-saving resources the shelter has provided for multiple years have been imperative in keeping people safe.

If you have questions at any point, please reach out to Ginny Merriam, City of Missoula Communications Director, at MerriamG@ci.missoula.mt.us or (406) 552-6007.

We look forward to connecting with you!

All the best,
Mayor Jordan Hess and City of Missoula staff