Missoula Aging Services rolls out Missoula Villages, expands Meals on Wheels contacts and pet-food deliveries

Missoula Aging Services is expanding how it supports older adults in Missoula County with a new neighbor-to-neighbor program called Missoula Villages and changes to its Meals on Wheels operations that prioritize in-person contact and address clients' ancillary needs.

Ria Overhold, community services director at Missoula Aging Services, told hosts of the Missoula County Commissioners podcast that the agency runs about 30 programs designed to help people "age in the way that they choose — with independence, with dignity." She said Meals on Wheels remains one of the agency’s best-known services but that staff also provide respite caregiver support and benefits counseling, with certified counselors available at the front desk to help clients navigate Medicaid and Medicare plan options.

"They can walk in the front door," Overhold said, describing on-site benefits help. "The folks that you talk to from the get-go can help you and answer questions." She warned that Medicare choices can be complicated, citing decisions about Part B and Part D or whether to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan.

Missoula Villages is a locally run platform that matches vetted volunteers with neighbors who need small, reciprocal supports — rides to appointments, help with a light household task or companionship for an event — without an exchange of funds. Overhold said the villages use a website platform where members sign up, are background-checked, and can post or reserve rides and shared activities.

"We're creating a circle of support for each other," Overhold said, explaining the program’s philosophy of reciprocity and small acts that "add up" to let people stay in their homes. She compared the effort to other local models, noting a similar program called My Glacier Village and saying Missoula Aging Services will serve as an umbrella agency while volunteers and community partners run much of the day-to-day work.

Early demand is strong: Overhold said the organization "just onboarded our first two members on Friday" and has "somewhere 40–50" people waiting to be onboarded. She urged interested residents to call Missoula Aging Services or use the button on the agency’s website to get more information.

The agency also adjusted Meals on Wheels after volunteers reported that the human contact with recipients often mattered more than the meal itself. Overhold said the program now emphasizes in-person handoffs so volunteers can make eye contact and note concerns, and staff have used that contact to intervene when clients show unmet needs.

The Meals on Wheels program recently partnered with the local Humane Society to deliver donated pet food alongside meals. Overhold said the partnership — which began about a year ago — grew out of drivers noticing situations in which clients were using their own food to feed pets; now drivers include donated pet food in deliveries.

Overhold — who said she has worked at Missoula Aging Services for five years and previously used agency services as a family caregiver — framed the program expansions as practical responses to needs that arise from regular contact between staff, volunteers and clients. She also highlighted a slate of village events, including Tai Chi sessions, a Butterfly House tour and an April 28 event at the Headwaters Foundation that will include a brief primer on how city and county government work and opportunities to get involved.

Contacts and next steps: Missoula Aging Services can be reached by phone or via the villages button on the agency’s website; hosts directed listeners to missoula.co/countyupdates for county information. The episode thanked Missoula Community Access Television (MCAT) and Missoula County Communications for support.