FAQs

Visit the Urban Camping page to learn more about the City's approach to addressing the realities of people living outdoors, both for neighbors living without shelter and for the broader community. Living outdoors is not ideal for anyone, most of all for our neighbors who are living outside without shelter. The City of Missoula is actively taking steps to better understand this issue and seek solutions that meet the needs of all who are impacted across Missoula. 

• Learn more about the City's response and how to report concerns.
• View weekly urban camping reports
• See options for available shelter.

There are multiple options available for our unhoused population.  View the list of shelter options.

Missoula has a Coordinated Entry System, which is a program that coordinates all community housing resources at a single point of entry.  It helps us reduce duplication of services and provides us with data to help improve our outcomes. Of the people in that system who reported a most recent residence, approximately 70% are from Montana.

Johnson Street Temporary Emergency Shelter is a low-barrier shelter that is open year-round to keep neighbors safe from severe weather and to increase shelter beds in Missoula in an effort to decrease the number of people living outdoors in urban areas. The shelter is operated by the Poverello Center and funded jointly by the City of Missoula and Missoula County through August 2024 through use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars.

Please see Johnson Street Shelter FAQ Flyer for additional information.

The Johnson Street Temporary Emergency Shelter is now open in place of Emergency Winter Shelter. Please see What is Johnson Street Temporary Emergency Shelter? for additional information.

Emergency Winter Shelter was an additional shelter that opened during the cold months to increase shelter beds in Missoula and keep neighbors safe from harsh winter weather. The life-saving program was jointly funded by the City and County since 2020, with additional funding from Human Resource Council. The Poverello Center operated the shelter. In September 2023, the shelter re-opened with funding for one year of year-round operations. 

City contributions to fund Emergency Winter Shelter are as follows: 

Winter 2020-2021 = $442,543.90 from Federal CDBG-CV* grant money 

*Community Development Block Grant-COVID

Winter 2021-2022 = $436,000 from Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars

Winter 2022-2023 = $385,506.35 from Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars

Year-round operations (Sept. '23-Sept. '24) = $1,704,345 from Federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars 

Please refer to this resource list for information about who to call with any concerns relating to the shelter.