homeless

David Stalling writes, "A growing and expanding homeless population is a symptom of a societal illness. We need to examine, diagnose and treat it or it will continue to get worse."

Missoula County this week approved a $900,000 contribution to help fund the operation and management of the Johnson Street shelter through next October, when the money runs out.

A proposal to place rotating homeless camps in each of Missoula's six voting wards was tabled in committee on Wednesday, even after an amendment that removed parks and rights-of-way as potential locations.

The Missoula Fire Department extinguished a structure fire in a shuttered house frequented by the homeless on Saturday afternoon just before 1 p.m.

Opening several authorized camp sites for the homeless in city parks and vacant lots in each of Missoula's six voting wards would provide some homeless residents a “place to exist,” one City Council member argued on Wednesday.

After a second week of debate and accusations of a poorly planned process, the Missoula City Council on Wednesday voted 6-3 to approve the operational contract to run the Johnson Street shelter for a full year.

A push to convert what once served as a winter shelter into a year-round facility drew backlash from several members of City Council on Wednesday, and a pledge from the city to seek solutions for a long-term shelter, where to place it and how to fund it.

The impacts of an increasing homeless population and urban camping along the water is taking a greater toll on the Clark Fork River.

While the mayor's request for an emergency levy to fund the operation of a second homeless shelter for the remainder of the year remains on the table, members of the Missoula City Council on Wednesday directed city staff to present a menu of other options and provide regular updates on the progress.

The proclamation of an emergency over homelessness and shelter may allow the city to adopt two mills to help fund what some see as a solution, but it will be up to the City Council to levy the tax, the city attorney said Monday night.

Work to convert an old West Broadway motel into transitional housing for homeless veterans will receive an $833,000 funding boost from Missoula County, which is helping cover some of project's construction and design costs.

The lack of options available to the City of Missoula regarding homeless campers has left most City Council members frustrated and eager to find a solution, which is likely to cost taxpayers money.