Some of the biggest news coming out of the Poverello Center in the past few weeks is a shift in where our staff work! For years, we have staffed the Valor House through our Veterans Programs. However, as that shelter moves from providing transitional to permanent housing, our staff is moving to another location – Blue Heron Place,
operated by the Missoula Housing Authority. These permanent, supportive housing options have already been utilized by many individuals who have previously accessed services at the Poverello Center.
The team who works at Blue Heron consists of a few long-time Poverello Center employees, including Paul, who has been on staff for 16 years, and Sam, who has been on staff for 5! The team said: “as the weeks have gone on, you see these residents that come in with so much trauma and fear slowly start to shed that outer layer. The fear slowly turns into trust, they start coming out and joining in community activities, the anger starts to shed and the smiles you see are just glowing. They finally get that feeling of security in their own space. Many have stated how thankful they are because they didn’t always have a way to access those resources before Blue Heron.”
Thank you to our amazing staff who have moved between buildings, and to our community partners at the Missoula Housing Authority!