Missoula to phase down Johnson Street shelter; mayor outlines housing-focused 'sprint' and April–Aug transition

Mayor Andrea Davis announced Monday that the city of Missoula will begin a phased wind-down of operations at the Johnson Street emergency shelter and shift limited city resources toward a housing-focused effort the city is calling a housing sprint.

Davis said the phase-down period will run April 1 through Aug. 31, 2025, and the city’s current contract with the Poverello Center that operates Johnson Street runs through Aug. 31. She told the council the city now faces an estimated $4 million shortfall in its general fund, and that federal one-time dollars that helped pay shelter operations are no longer available.

“The phase wind down of the Johnson Street shelter will be April 1 through August 31,” Mayor Andrea Davis said.

The housing sprint will be led by the city’s houseless programs department in close daily coordination with service providers and community partners, Davis said. The effort will prioritize securing permanent rental housing, reunifications with family or friends, treatment or recovery housing and other individualized housing solutions. Flexible funds will be used to hold units open, pay security deposits, address rent or utility arrears and cover transportation where needed.

The city plans a $400,000 flexible housing fund to assist the sprint; Davis said that figure was informed by prior pilots and national practice, including the city’s “House for the Holidays’’ pilot, which housed 12 of 15 veterans. Davis cited a national-learning figure of roughly $2,000 per person on average to secure housing, while noting individual needs varied widely: “some of them needed $0, and 1 person, for example, needed 9,000.”

Davis said the United Way has established a flexible fund to receive donations for the housing sprint and that the United Way’s fund was stood up at the end of the prior week. She encouraged financial contributions, outreach to landlords and volunteer engagement with networks such as the Missoula Interfaith Collaborative’s Housing Advocate Network, which scheduled an orientation for new volunteers on March 12.

Davis emphasized that emergency shelter will continue to play an important role during extreme conditions and noted that the Poverello Center, the YWCA (family housing at Meadowlark) and Hope Rescue Mission’s temporary safe outdoor space will continue providing services. The mayor described the sprint as housing-focused and operationally supported by frequent coordination (a “pseudo incident command structure”) among city staff and providers.

Public commenters and several council members pressed for clarity, funding, and safeguards. Sage Bennett, a resident who spoke during multiple public-comment periods, expressed concern that the city was shifting responsibility to service providers and urged alternatives such as reallocating enforcement funding toward housing supports. Chloe Carlson, a resident who said she uses injectable medication, asked how the sprint would serve people living outdoors and requested continued harm-reduction resources such as sharps disposal.

Several council members said they were nervous but hopeful about the approach. Councilor Cheryl Jordan and Councilor Sarah Anderson (among others) thanked staff, service providers and the United Way for their roles and urged community participation: donate to the United Way housing solutions fund, volunteer with the Housing Advocate Network, or offer units as landlords.

The mayor said staff will return with a council update at the March 26 housing and redevelopment committee meeting that will include further detail on staffing, enforcement transitions and program operations.

City staff and the mayor described the decision as driven by the end of one-time federal funding that had supported shelter operations and by fiscal constraints in the FY2026 outlook. The mayor also said the council previously passed a resolution concerning deconstruction of certain Johnson Street buildings and related sites, and that the new approach seeks to prioritize housing outcomes over expanding congregate shelter beds.

Next steps announced: the phased wind-down period (April 1–Aug. 31), ongoing daily coordination with providers, a March 26 committee update, and an invitation for landlords and volunteers to connect through the mayor’s office or city houseless services staff. Davis said she was meeting with Chamber of Commerce leadership to discuss private-sector support and that more budget items tied to housing-first strategies would appear in the FY2026 budget process.

Ending

The city’s plan shifts resources from operating the Johnson Street emergency shelter to an intensive housing placement effort over a fixed transition period. City staff will present additional details and staffing changes to the housing and redevelopment committee on March 26; the United Way is managing a donated flexible fund for the housing sprint.