Temporary Safe Outdoor Space (TSOS)
Missoula Temporary Safe Outdoor Space: Frequently Asked Questions
Missoula’s Temporary SOS is located on a parcel of privately owned land north of Highway 93 between Buckhouse Bridge and Blue Mountain Road. The private property is leased to Hope Rescue Mission for $1.
Missoula TSOS will include the following facilities and services:
- 20 two-person tents (spaced for social distancing), bathroom facilities, handwashing, trash removal, food, and access to showers and laundry
- Outreach workers, case management, safety precautions
- Wellness screenings and links to hotels, housing and health care services
- Personal protective equipment (masks, gloves) and cleaning supplies
For health and safety reasons, no local providers of shelter, food or services are operating at full capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many unhoused people are living on the streets or in their vehicles, which is not safe during a Montana winter. Many of those individuals have served our country and are veterans of the U.S. military. A number of them are currently living in unsafe environments, including the encampment off Reserve Street. There are increased reports of people camping in local neighborhoods. These locations lack access to trash removal or bathrooms and pose an environmental, health and safety hazard for those who are camping, as well as the community. Having a safe, legal, secure environment with health precautions and links to services reduces the demands on emergency responders and the healthcare system and results in better outcomes for everyone.
Missoula TSOS is a legal, staffed, secure site on private land with appropriate resources, including social services. It will operate as a partnership between United Way of Missoula County and Hope Rescue Mission with logistical support from the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management. The effort is also supported by other nonprofits, the faith community, law enforcement and other first responders, Reaching Home: Missoula’s 10-Year Plan to End homelessness, and private businesses.
The TSOS is considered a “low-barrier” site, and participation is behavior-based. All participants will be required to initial and sign a written agreement – both when they enter initially, and whenever they come and go from the site – that includes behavioral expectations, rights and responsibilities. Only approved participants in TSOS are allowed on the property, with a No Trespassing policy posted and enforced.
Pre-opening logistics are being directed by United Way of Missoula County and supported by Missoula County’s Office of Emergency Management. Hope Rescue Mission will provide case management, and members of the local faith community — mainly River of Life and Cornerstone churches — will provide outreach, with the goal of linking TSOS participants to services, including long-term housing.
The costs to set up the TSOS will be fully reimbursed through federal CARES Act funding, so no local property taxpayer dollars will be used. Community partners involved in establishing the TSOS are actively seeking additional funding to sustain the site through the winter.
The county declared a state of emergency and activated its emergency operations plan in response to COVID-19 in March. Under that plan, the county has an obligation to address the immediate health and safety needs of our population, which includes people experiencing homelessness. The emergency operations plan directs staff to work with other agencies and community partners as needed to meet this obligation, which is how the county formed partnerships with the private landowner and partner agencies on this project. The Missoula County Office of Emergency Management and Public Works have performed some work up front to prepare the site, which also falls under the scope of the emergency declaration, and the cost of which will be reimbursed with CARES Act funds.
Missoula County commissioners determined during a Dec. 17 public hearing that interim zoning is not necessary for this property since using it for this purpose is allowed under the COVID-19 emergency proclamation currently in place. Under the emergency proclamation, the county has an obligation to address the immediate health and safety needs of our population, which includes people experiencing homelessness. The emergency operations plan directs staff to work with other agencies and community partners as needed to meet this obligation.
The Temporary Safe Outdoor Space is a temporary, safe, healthy, secure, staffed (24/7) environment on private land that will serve – with dignity – approximately 40 people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic who are not accessing existing services or resources. It will provide a more structured environment and more resources than the current unregulated encampment near Reserve Street, which has posed environmental, health and safety hazards, and it will be staffed by the Hope Rescue Mission. It is an outdoor shelter with 20 campsites with tents each on a platform spaced 12 feet apart.
The Johnson Street emergency winter shelter is a temporary indoor shelter located at the Johnson Street Community Center set up by the City of Missoula and funded mainly with federal COVID-19 relief funds and financial contributions from the City and Missoula County. The Poverello Center staffs and operates the shelter through a contract with the City. This site has capacity for 150 people.
Under the emergency declaration adopted to address COVID-19, the county has an obligation to address the immediate health and safety needs of our population, which includes people experiencing homelessness. The emergency operations plan directs staff to work with other agencies and community partners as needed to meet this obligation, which is how the county is able to move forward with setting up the TSOS. Commissioners determined at a Dec. 17 public hearing that this use is allowed under the emergency declaration and interim zoning is not required at this time.