Service providers, clients, staff and public officials will gather outside of the Missoula County Courthouse on Friday to bring attention to the victories and challenges of helping people experiencing homelessness.
The event, called “Conversations on a Bench,” is sponsored by Missoula’s Hope Rescue Mission and coincides with World Homelessness Day. Missoula Executive Director Jim Hicks will speak to the public from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We have so many unsheltered people in Montana who will be trying to make it through the winter,” Hicks said in a press release. “And this event will shed light on the many challenges they face.”
Hope Rescue Mission of Missoula operates the Temporary Safe Outdoor Space (TSOS), a drop-in center for services and a women’s shelter. The Temporary Safe Outdoor Space is a transitional shelter that helps people get stabilized and into permanent housing.
Hicks said his primary goal of the event is to change public perception around homelessness in Missoula.
Other shelter organizations in Kalispell and Great Falls are also participating in the event.
Missoula shelter officials expect capacity issues for shelter beds in the city this winter following the closure of the Johnson Street Shelter in September, which previously housed between 120 to 160 people.
Griffen Smith is the local government reporter for the Missoulian.
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Griffen Smith
City/County Government Reporter
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