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Missoula County commissioners endorse "On Our Way Home" community houselessness strategy
Summary
The Missoula County Board of Commissioners voted to endorse On Our Way Home, a three-year community strategy to make houselessness in Missoula rare, brief and nonrecurring; the leadership group requested county endorsement and commissioners approved unanimously.
Emily Armstrong, houseless programs manager for the City of Missoula, introduced a community-developed strategy called On Our Way Home and turned the presentation over to members of the leadership group. "The strategy is a true community strategy," Armstrong said, asking that questions focus on process and implementation.
Sydney Goodman, a community member with lived experience, and Sam Hilliard, Missoula's senior coordinated entry specialist, presented the plan's purpose, scope and measures. "The purpose of the plan...to make houselessness in Missoula rare brief and non recurring," Hilliard said. The leadership group said the strategy builds on previous community plans and systems dating to 1993 and the 2012–2022 Reaching Home plan, and relies on the Missoula coordinated entry system and local data to set priorities.
The strategy sets three primary approaches over an initial 2025–2028 timeframe: right-size the number of beds and related services (including support for flexible funds such as the Housing Solutions Fund), secure diversified funding for high-priority activities, and increase capacity for provider organizations through training, volunteer support and retention efforts. Presenters said the Housing Solutions Fund has served more than 2,000 people in Missoula County since 2021 and that most recent expenditures supported prevention (rental arrears and deposits) rather than shelter beds.
Sam Hilliard said the plan's measurable outcomes include reducing overall and chronic homelessness, reducing unsheltered homelessness, and improving housing stability for formerly homeless individuals. Presenters described community adoption to date by seven organizations and asked the commissioners to formally endorse the leadership group's strategy and join implementation efforts.
Chris Lansbury, Missoula County chief administrative officer, said the county had been an active partner in development, staff had participated on the leadership group, and the county's action would be an endorsement; the city council will separately take formal action. Commissioners discussed whether endorsement implied changes to county land-use documents and Lansbury said endorsement is an administrative action and not an amendment to the county growth policy or zoning code.
A commissioner moved to endorse the On Our Way Home strategy; a second was recorded and the board voted unanimously in favor. Commissioners recorded appreciation for the leadership group's work and encouraged continued community collaboration. Presenters asked that the county align future relevant decisions with the strategy and participate in implementation as appropriate.
The endorsement places the county among community partners supporting the strategy; presenters and commissioners said future program- and funding-level decisions implementing the strategy may come before the board.
