Missoula County officials on Jan. 6 approved a $10,000 contract with the Missoula Interfaith Collaborative to support an emergency weather overflow shelter program that activates when shelters are full and temperatures fall to about 10 degrees or below.

Claire Biddickup, who introduced the item, said the grant would come from the county’s Community Assistance Fund and run through June 30, 2026. The Interfaith Collaborative operates a rotating network of congregations over a roughly 21-week period; when the county’s emergency-weather protocol is triggered, the host congregation is activated, guests are transferred by lottery, and the congregations provide space overnight.

“The funding from the assistance fund is helping staff overnight assistance or attendance for those nights when it’s triggered,” Biddickup said. She told the board the program would pay for two on-call overnight staff positions to be hired by the collaborative.

County staff and board members described the arrangement as a cost-effective alternative to building a dedicated shelter. One participant said the county is partnering with faith communities that can provide existing facilities while the county helps cover staffing costs; the Interfaith Collaborative covers transportation and other program needs.

The motion to approve the contract was moved and seconded during the meeting and carried on a voice vote of "Aye." The board did not provide a roll-call tally or names tied to each vote in the transcript.

The contract supplements existing shelter capacity during extreme cold but does not itself fund capital repairs or construction; county staff clarified that the ADA transition plan item discussed earlier on the consent agenda is intended to document accessibility barriers and guide future projects rather than provide construction funding.

The county will monitor activation of the overflow network and incorporate lessons into future planning; no additional funding commitments beyond the $10,000 grant were announced at the meeting.