“Sam Forstag with the Montana Coalition to Solve Homelessness said during the record-cold temperatures last winter, the Poverello Center in Missoula had to knock down a wall in one of its shelters to accommodate the need for services and “make sure that nobody was freezing to death.” READ MORE

“Local housing advocates in Montana are committing to do the on-the-ground work to get a more accurate estimate of the rental market in the state – which would likely increase what the feds offer for housing vouchers.” READ MORE

“The future of other services are uncertain, especially around homelessness. The Johnson Street warming shelter has relied almost exclusively on ARPA money for its three-year existence — but funding will run out in September.” READ MORE

“Medicaid recipients in Montana are going to see expanded behavioral health services for those with diagnosed mental health disorders, including housing assistance, incentives for treatment goals and re-entry services for justice-involved populations 30-days prior to release.” READ MORE

“Last year, the Montana Coalition to Solve Homelessness found nearly every community in the state had experienced a “dramatic increase” in the need for shelter and other services in the past three years.” READ MORE

“"It's not especially surprising," said Sam Forstag, a manager with the Montana Coalition to Solve Homelessness. "Right now there's a nationwide increase, but it sure makes sense that we're leading the pack in most categories."“ READ MORE

“Both the primary Poverello shelter and the Johnson Street facility are accepting donated blankets, coats, hand warmers, canned food, coffee and non-perishable snacks.” READ MORE

“A significant portion of people in Montana who faced eviction during the pandemic were either single mothers, very low-income, had mental illness issues in their household before they lost their housing or fell into all those categories.” READ MORE

“Rep. Mike Yakawich stopped by NonStop Local on behalf of the MT Dept. of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) to talk about the Community Listening Session that's being held tomorrow, Wed Jan 10, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Billings Public Library Community Room.” READ MORE

“As of mid-December, 33 people in Missoula who were formerly homeless now have apartments of their own at Blue Heron Place, one of the largest permanent supportive housing initiatives in the city.” READ MORE

“Missoula’s Mayor Jordan Hess declared a homelessness and sheltering state of emergency this month as a crisis center in Billings reports more people who are homeless for the first time and a shelter in Great Falls sees a growing need for its services.” READ MORE

““When folks don’t have a warm place to stay, when they don’t have a shelter, when they don’t have access to someone to connect them with mental health services, [substance use disorder] treatment, etc., those costs are carried by our emergency rooms, by our EMS services, by our law enforcement, even by our jails … ,” said Sam Forstag, representing the Montana Coalition to Solve Homelessness.” READ MORE