The Poverello Center draws in some of the most driven, compassionate people in Missoula. Rich Bishop, one of our direct care staff, is one of these notable hard workers with a passion for creating change in and out of the workplace.
He began working at the Pov in December of 2022, at the Johnson Street Emergency Shelter. Over a year later, Rich uses his time at the Pov to inspire his activism for nonviolence. He says the Pov is “a reflection of where we are in the world, of our culture. I’ve learned a lot here about what it’s like when someone’s in trouble, what it means to de-escalate, and how much relationships matter in those situations.”
One of Rich’s favorite things about working at the Poverello Center is the staff, and how they create hospitality for people who need it the most. He works so naturally with clients because of his capacity to care deeply. Beau Sinclair, who works often with Rich, says: “He really reminds you that you’re doing this kind of work because you want to. He works as hard if not harder than anyone here.”
After spending years working in the Catholic Church, Rich loves finding deeper meaning in his work at the Pov: “Being a secular institution, it’s hard to call it this, but this job is a vocation; it’s a calling from something above you to go into the world and help.” In this way, Rich exemplifies the classic Franciscan spirit of the original Poverello Center founders, who advocated for “an attitude which we believe is Christ-like, even though not every member of this organization would necessarily so label it.” He said he gets real fulfillment from the experience of working at the Pov, stating that “so much of the pain we see is caused by a culture of violence and struggle, and so trying to right that wrong is the most spiritual aspect of the job.”
He plans to take this spiritual feeling farther than Missoula this spring, as he sets off to Nevada for the annual Sacred Peace Walk, hosted by the Nevada Desert Experience. This pilgrimage from Las Vegas to the Nevada Test Site, where hundreds of nuclear bomb tests have been conducted. “Nevada’s going to be good for me – it’s during Holy Week, and I just like being around the Franciscan spirit, the idea of helping, of creating peace. It’s all tied together for me.”
Thanks, Rich, for over a year of hard work, and an attitude of bringing peace to the Pov!