Council approves $211,476 contract for Poverello Center outreach after debate on metrics and costs

Missoula City Council voted 9–1 on Oct. 27 to authorize a fiscal year 2026 contract with the Poverello Center to fund outreach and operations for unhoused residents and to sustain the homeless outreach team (HOT).

The contract authorizes the mayor to sign an agreement not to exceed $211,476 for the period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, to support HOT operations and related outreach services. Councilor Jones presented the motion; several councilors and the public debated the contract before the roll-call vote.

Jill Bonnie, executive director of the Poverello Center, described HOT’s services as a mix of immediate needs assistance (gear and winter supplies), relationship-building with people experiencing homelessness, help obtaining identification and transportation to housing intakes, and coordination with local health and social-service partners. “HOT is the only outreach team in the community that specifically is dedicated to supporting this population,” Bonnie said, noting the program expanded during the pandemic and that reduced funding would shrink the team’s capacity.

HOT staff and advocates emphasized that the team does both direct services and housing-focused case work, and they said reporting and metrics have been strengthened but remain challenging to capture fully. Katie Leahy, HOT team lead, said efforts to improve data collection are ongoing: “Data is a real big beast, and data changes…we're definitely doing so much better in data.” Maddie Wood, a HOT outreach worker, recounted a case in which the team reunited an individual with shelter and medication after a traumatic brain injury, saying the team’s outreach led directly to housing or shelter placements in individual instances.

Opposition from Councilor Campbell centered on accountability and measurable outcomes. Campbell urged clearer, outcome-based metrics tied to use of taxpayer funds and proposed that the Poverello Center share costs for security and cleanup that the city currently funds; that amendment failed in committee, and Campbell voted against the contract on Monday. Campbell also noted the Poverello Center’s publicly reported 2023 revenues and argued for negotiating conditional funding in future budget cycles.

Supporters pointed to the contract as part of an already-approved budget cycle and urged that withdrawing funds now would harm people during winter months and undermine ongoing housing-sprint progress. Councilors who voted to approve the contract said HOT’s work reduces downstream public costs by diverting people from emergency rooms and the criminal-justice system.

The motion passed on roll call with 9 yeas and 1 nay (Campbell). The contract is authorized for FY26 and will be administered by the city and the Poverello Center under the terms described in the agreement.