Jill Bonny, executive director of the Poverello Center, said that the shelters are operating near capacity as they serve an average of 120 individuals nightly during the summer, which exceeded her initial expectations of 50 or 60.
Homelessness has spiked significantly in Missoula, with the city’s two main shelters reporting a 53% increase in the number of shelter nights provided from 2021 to 2023.
Missoula's rising homelessness is closely tied to soaring housing costs, driven by an influx of affluent transplants causing rent and home prices to rise dramatically.
The city is working on overhauling its land-use plan to build more housing and improve affordability in an attempt to address the ongoing crisis.
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