Celebrating 50 Years of The Poverello Center

2024 marks the 50th anniversary of The Poverello Center, Missoula’s nonprofit homelessness shelter and advocacy organization. This week the Missoula County Commissioners spoke with Jill Bonny, director of the Pov, about the history, changing demographics and current challenges of serving individuals in need of housing, food and human connection.

Related episodes: "The Economic Impact of Homelessness in Missoula",  May 22, 2024.

Related links:

• Housing Solutions Fund
• Temporary Safe Outdoor Space
• Volunteer at the Pov

 
Thank you to Missoula's Community Media Resource for podcast recording support!

Transcript

Juanita Vero: [00:00:10] Welcome back to the agenda with your Missoula County Commissioners. I'm Juanita Vero and I'm here with my fellow commissioners Dave Strohmaier and Josh Slotnick. Today we're joined by Jill Bonny, the director of the Poverello Center, which is celebrating its 50th year.

Jill Bonny: [00:00:25] Yes. It's exciting this year.

Juanita Vero: [00:00:26] Congratulations.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:00:27] Yeah, congratulations. Thank you. You and your organization. I was going.

Jill Bonny: [00:00:30] To say I haven't been around that long, but I have been around that long. Just not at the Pov.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:00:33] Me too. Well, okay. Yeah, there's a few of us who have been around at least that long. What was happening 50 years ago at the Poverello?

Jill Bonny: [00:00:43] Yeah. So it's it's an interesting story. And I think, you know, we have an interactive exhibit at the library that we can talk about a little bit. But when we started to prepare for this and looked for stories, it's been really fun. And so in 1974, the Pov started and it was just serving food on Pine Street right here on Pine Street.

Juanita Vero: [00:01:03] Do you know what sort of community conversations were happening back then in 1974? 

Jill Bonny: [00:01:08] I mean, I just know that they had people that were hungry and so they wanted to feed people. And so there was a Knights of Columbus building here on Pine Street. 

Josh Slotnick: [00:01:17] Do you know where on Pine Street?

Dave Strohmaier: [00:01:18] the Knights of Columbus building currently is down? Oh, I'm sure that was it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Pillars. Yeah. 

Josh Slotnick: [00:01:26] So that was the original Pov?

Jill Bonny: [00:01:27] Yeah, that was the original. It was less than a year that the Pov was there. It's interesting. They say the first four days they served a bowl of soup to one man each day. That was the only individual that came. And then word got around and people started coming. 

Juanita Vero: [00:01:44] And where did the name Poverello come from? What does it mean?

Jill Bonny: [00:01:46] It means little poor man.

Josh Slotnick: [00:01:48] Okay. Is it is it in Catholicism? 

Jill Bonny: [00:01:51] Yeah. Okay. The Pov now is not a religious organization, but it was back then. And so that's really where it started, was a bunch of church ladies that got together and wanted to feed individuals in the community.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:02:03] So today there is no connection with the Catholic Church...formally?

Jill Bonny: [00:02:09] There's not, no. And, you know, there are a lot of shelters around the state that are connected to religious organizations. We're not and really feel like that's important so that anyone and everyone feels comfortable to come, whether you're connected to to religion or church or not, you know, and it's interesting, Saint Francis Church was involved with us at the very beginning, back 50 years ago. And to this day, Saint Francis Church comes to the Pov, and there's a group of individuals from that church that makes hundreds of sack lunches a couple times a week.

Josh Slotnick: [00:02:41] A couple times a week.

Jill Bonny: [00:02:42] A couple times a week for all of this time, they've been involved with some way of serving food at the Pov.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:02:49] And I've not had a chance to take a look at the display at the library. It's pretty great to hear about that, but I guess based on the exhibit that talk about the history of the Pov, are there some specific key milestones in the past 50 years that stand out to you as as inflection points in terms of the mission and and vision of the Pov?

Jill Bonny: [00:03:10] I think some of the things that I definitely didn't realize is how many times the Pov moved locations. So there was the Knights of Columbus, and then it moved down the street on Pine to June Kenny's home. She was involved from the very beginning, and then there was a zoning battle. Imagine that. No way. And the Pov, um, then had to relocate yet again. After that is when it moved to 535 Ryman, which is where it was for 40 years. Yeah. So that was really interesting to me, like all the times that it moved and some of the reasons why it moved are the same reasons that organizations move today. And then it was in 2014 when we moved to the new building on Broadway, and really I was at the building and I was with the Pov just long enough. I always say on Ryman to really appreciate the new building, but I remember, you know, we were probably sleeping between 80 and 100 people at that location. And Ryman, um.

Juanita Vero: [00:04:09] So essentially the same number. Wow.

Jill Bonny: [00:04:11] It was packed. And we would have to step over people to come in. I remember the women could not take showers while the kitchen was running, so they would have to wait until the afternoon to take showers because we couldn't have water running in both places.

Josh Slotnick: [00:04:25] It just wasn't enough water pressure, right?

Jill Bonny: [00:04:27] And hot water. We needed all the hot water for the kitchen so the men's dorm could do it, but the women's couldn't. And so when we moved down to this location, we created 120 beds and thought, we have never slept over 100 people. We're going to be fine with 120 beds. And very quickly we were not like.

Juanita Vero: [00:04:45] Within a year. Or when you say very quickly.

Jill Bonny: [00:04:48] Within a year. Yeah, yeah, it was at capacity.

Juanita Vero: [00:04:51] Yeah. Immediately.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:04:53] As a little bit of an aside, I can think back pre-pandemic to discussions of the 30 permanently supportive housing units at Blue Heron or Trinity thinking that that's going to help. Yep, yep. That's really going to, uh.

Juanita Vero: [00:05:08] Put a dent.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:05:09] Yeah. That's. Take a huge dent out of the challenge that we have experienced. And well, I few years later, I think it's clear that that has not solved all of our challenges.

Josh Slotnick: [00:05:20] So in the time that you've been with the Pov, besides the added pressure and the growth, what are some other things that have changed?

Jill Bonny: [00:05:27] Some of the other things we've changed? I mean, we had we had a pandemic in the middle of that. Right. And so I remember pre-pandemic, we really were trying to look at policies within the shelter that would be the most beneficial for people that were staying there and help them move into housing. And so we were really working on diversion, which helps people try to figure out a solution with like a friend or family member so that they don't need to come to the shelter. Sometimes people can stay on someone's couch for a little bit, can borrow 100 bucks from someone. So we really had these conversations around diversion. And then also we're really talking to people about housing. And then Covid happened and we shifted and just wanted to keep people safe and alive and fed and healthy and stop talking about those things as much. And now that we are coming out of the pandemic, they still say coming out of the pandemic because it shows its ugly face. Every once in a while, we are looking back at how do we start talking to people about housing now that housing is becoming available, talking about diversion. And one of the things that I think is interesting that I know you guys talked to Bryce Ward on the last episode, is where he talks about that informal safety net and how people just don't have that as much as they used to, which is really what's the relationship skills. Yeah.

Juanita Vero: [00:06:52] Or relationship maintenance skills.

Jill Bonny: [00:06:54] The relationship skills. The people they can fall back on whoever's going to let them sleep on their couch or lend them a hundred bucks, you know, that just isn't there in the way that it has been in years past. You know, some of that informal safety net was churches, and people aren't all going to churches as much as they have in the past. Some of that is people are not volunteering as much as they used to. We even see that with our volunteers. As I read that report, I was like, yep, I can see that. I can see that. And so we're just not seeing people be as connected in ways that can be beneficial to them when they hit a crisis and need some support.

Josh Slotnick: [00:07:33] Yeah, we are far lonelier and isolated society than we once were, but we're way plugged in, which is totally awesome.

Juanita Vero: [00:07:40] Yeah, I don't know, way plugged in. Can you hear the dripping sarcasm I don't know.

Jill Bonny: [00:07:46] Yeah. Well, yeah.

Juanita Vero: [00:07:47] Let's talk about Ninth Circuit. Yeah. I don't even know where you want to begin. Yeah.

Josh Slotnick: [00:07:53] What do you think.

Jill Bonny: [00:07:53] On what exactly the Ninth Circuit is? Or what it is.

Josh Slotnick: [00:07:57] So this decision... So this by now often referenced decision from Boise, I believe Boise versus Martin, where the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said local jurisdictions cannot ticket people for camping on public land when those very same jurisdictions do not also provide a place for someone to be correct. Now, this decision was the law of the land for quite a while. And then a similar issue happened in Grants Pass, Oregon. And that decision made its way all the way to the Supreme Court, and we should know what they have to say coming later this summer. If the Supreme Court does, as I would wager they're going to say, yeah, go ahead. Doesn't matter if you have places or not. It's illegal. Local jurisdictions can enforce no camping. What do you think will ensue here?

Jill Bonny: [00:08:41] Gosh, you know, it's so hard to know.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:08:45] If you had your druthers. And I think that's ultimately what we're all looking for would be solutions. Uh, well, what what has actually worked elsewhere. And clearly, if if you're imposing a fine on someone who has no money and that's not going to elicit the the change that you want, what else can we do as a community and those in those sorts of.. Let's just talk, about talk briefly about those sorts of more extreme situations where there does appear to be a nexus between environmental degradation or public safety and health, and someone camped where they are camped. Yeah.

Jill Bonny: [00:09:21] I mean, homelessness isn't good for any of us, right? It's not good for the economy. It's not good for the environment. It's not good for the people that are experiencing it. I think the biggest thing that we need to do is tell people where outdoors they can be. It's a much different conversation. If you go up to someone and say, hey, you're too close to the water, this can cause degradation along the water line. If you could move to this other area, this would be an okay place for you to be. And that place also includes a place for you to use the restroom and throw away your garbage. Then that's a completely different conversation. Then we need you to move away from the water. I don't know where you can go and the person is like, what do I do? I don't know what to do. Where am I supposed to go? I don't know where, but not here. Like those two things. Things are completely different conversations, and I know not everyone is going to take that first conversation well, but I think most people will be like, if you can help, tell me where I can be, I will go to that location.

Josh Slotnick: [00:10:23] We learned a similar lesson along another type of human behavior often complained about and yet advocated for, and that's parking. When we said, you can't park here without giving people an option of where they could park, they kept parking illegally.

Juanita Vero: [00:10:39] And this isn't parking overnight. You're talking about recreational. I'm talking about parking.

Josh Slotnick: [00:10:42] And I'm by no means making an exact equivalency between parking and someone who's desperately living outside. I'm just reinforcing your point that if we say no somewhere, we also have to say yes or the no just moves around. So we at the county and the city, in a moment of pretty intense need, came up with the ACS. It lived for a short time. We learned some lessons. We also came up with the TSOS and we've learned some lessons there.

Juanita Vero: [00:11:08] Authorized campsite and temporary safe outdoor space.

Josh Slotnick: [00:11:10] Authorized campsite would be basically a place where you can camp where there's bathrooms, garbage, sharps, etc. and then temporary safe outdoor space that we run in partnership with Hope Rescue Mission and United Way, where it's a smaller, hard sided shelters where people are living in for months on end until they kind of graduate to more permanent housing. We've learned a lot of lessons from both these things. What of those lessons would you want to apply to the creation of a new place where we're saying, yes, you could camp here.

Jill Bonny: [00:11:36] Those two places are completely different. And so the authorized camping site, I think, grew to be too big, which is so.

Josh Slotnick: [00:11:45] Scale is important.

Jill Bonny: [00:11:46] Yeah. It's really, really important to keep scale. What kind of.

Juanita Vero: [00:11:49] Numbers? What what seems to work.

Jill Bonny: [00:11:51] 30 to 45 shouldn't be any bigger any larger than that. And that's total number of people. And I think that that is we did that.

Josh Slotnick: [00:11:59] At we do that at TSOS. Yes.

Jill Bonny: [00:12:00] And that's what when you see other programs like this around the country that work, it is smaller scaled ones. You know, Spokane had one that got to be 600 people. Oh my. Yeah. And it was a big.

Josh Slotnick: [00:12:11] Montana that could be its own county.

Jill Bonny: [00:12:14] Right? No. Right. Yeah. And so keeping it small. But I think the big thing that's the difference between the two aside from accommodations. Right. They've got hard sided shelters and have some heat source and things like that at the TSOS and services. Right. So they have someone who's working with them and helping them complete their goals and move into housing at the authorized camping site. That wasn't the intention from the beginning. And that's okay, because some people are not yet at the place in their journey where they're ready for the TSOS, right? So I think we need different options for different people who are in different places in their journey or just have different needs. There are many people that stayed at the authorized camping site that will never go to source. They're just not going to be ready for a program like that. And so we need to be able to provide an option for those individuals.

Josh Slotnick: [00:13:10] Do you think there should be some level of services or human presence other than the campers at this type of idea? What would that look like?

Jill Bonny: [00:13:16] You know, there's there's a lot of talk about other places where they have kind of some self-governed system.

Juanita Vero: [00:13:24] That totally just depends on the cast of characters that you have to work with. Right?

Jill Bonny: [00:13:28] So I think having some staff that can then guide people to be able to do some of their self-government, but not on their own. So like, we're going to help mentor you through being able to have this role at an authorized site. But you are not 100% in control, so you're not going to keep a campsite at 40 to 45 people. If you don't have someone overseeing it, you're not going to, you know, make sure that structures are not built and you're in line with the fire department's regulations. Without someone, there.

Josh Slotnick: [00:14:01] Needs to some.

Jill Bonny: [00:14:02] Some rules enforce the rules.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:14:04] Yes. Jill, can you point to a place in the country that is actually doing what you think is on the right track?

Jill Bonny: [00:14:11] I think there's some places in California doing this. I would have to go back and tell you exactly what cities. Also, I know that there are some locations in Washington that have tried this, and I think some have worked, some haven't.

Juanita Vero: [00:14:27] I think so much of it must depend not just on the resources, but the the people. It's the people.

Josh Slotnick: [00:14:33] The people you said cast of characters. That's gotta. If you only have 35 people, it's going to mean a lot if there 35 cooperative or not.

Juanita Vero: [00:14:40] Yeah. Or even with your service providers like having the right personality or skill set to be able to manage.

Jill Bonny: [00:14:46] And if you have 35 people in one location that say, we are really committed to not using substances and being sober, and this is what we really want to do when we want to work with each other on that, then you keep them together. And if you have others that are like, we're not in that place yet and we can behave, but we want to be able to have a couple beers, then you keep those individuals. Together. And so really being thoughtful around who is in which location, I think is really important.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:15:17] Jill, I want to shift just a little bit to something we not infrequently hear from our constituents across the county, and that is the old phrase, build it and they will come. And recognizing you're in the trenches, you are running into folks on probably a daily basis that are in the pot for maybe a whole variety of reasons. What's your perception? And in terms of we heard a little bit from Bryce in terms of statistics and the research that he's done on this topic, but just in anecdotally, are there folks who are coming here from elsewhere across the nation because they've heard that Missoula, Montana has such great services that they want to be here versus folks who are finding themselves houseless or homeless, who call Missoula home and have for maybe many years.

Jill Bonny: [00:16:07] Yeah, it's interesting, I and we hear that all the time. Also, we do see people from surrounding rural areas that come because there are not services. But if you think about someone in Texas saying, I'm going to go to Missoula because they have such great services, there's 20 cities between Texas and us that have better services than what we have and have warmer weather. It just doesn't make sense. But we also see people who are driving through and they have car trouble and they get stranded and they don't have money to fix their car. And then they hear you can talk to them and they're like, I've been here for six months because of this. And it's like, you just need an alternator for your car. Okay, how do we help you get that? But there are also a lot of individuals that have been here forever. There are individuals that are coming back here that have been here before. I have staff members that will be like, I know this person is from Missoula because I went to Hellgate High School with him, right. Um, and so really, we have a lot of people that are from here or their connections are from here. I do have a story of a gal that I know who grew up in the Flathead Valley, and she moved away and went to college and then lived away from home for 5 or 6 years. And she met a partner and they had a baby, and they broke up and she needed support. And so she came home. And so she is not back in the Flathead Valley, but she's in Montana, she and her baby. And so does she count as Montanan or local? You know, it's like who counts and who doesn't because she's just coming back to where her support system is. But if you talk to her and said, where do you come from? She might say Washington, but that doesn't mean that's where she grew up. Interesting.

Josh Slotnick: [00:17:57] So, Jill, one of the things we heard from Bryce in the podcast you mentioned is that doing nothing costs a 7 to $10,000 per homeless person. What do you think we could be doing to prevent people from falling into homelessness? And imagine that you get to be czar of Missoula for a few days, and you have all kinds of resources. What would that prescription look like?

Jill Bonny: [00:18:17] Oh, all kinds of resources, affordable housing and higher wages. And but I do think the Housing Solutions fund. Yeah, yeah, we're housing solutions.

Josh Slotnick: [00:18:26] We're talking about preventing homelessness.

Jill Bonny: [00:18:27] So the Housing Solution Fund has been wonderful for people.

Josh Slotnick: [00:18:32] To describe how it works?

Jill Bonny: [00:18:33] Yeah. So let's say I had a car repair this month. And because of that I can't pay my rent. And I'm afraid that then I will become homeless. But I just need help with one month's rent and then I can pick it back up on my own. And so you can call 211, and you can ask to take part in the Housing Solutions Fund and get some money from that. And it's one time, I think the amount that you can get depends upon how much funding they have at the time, but they have helped hundreds of families not then become homeless.

Josh Slotnick: [00:19:09] This is a United Way program.

Jill Bonny: [00:19:10] It is. Yeah. And then administered through 211 

Josh Slotnick: [00:19:14] Ok, great. So more money to the Housing Solutions Fund. Yeah. Because yeah... I mean get tapped out last year it did.

Jill Bonny: [00:19:20] Yeah. People utilize it and then it's gone. And then they get some more and then they utilize it and it's gone. But they're definitely helping many many people while there's funds available. Which means those people are not coming to our door.

Juanita Vero: [00:19:34] What's something that we can do or not? Not Missoula County commissioners necessarily, but our listeners.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:19:40] And could I throw in something just on top of that? And in the spirit of what our listeners can do, here's an example of a question that I have. Because virtually every day walking to the office, someone will ask me for money downtown. Not an infrequent thing. And I've heard from other community members who have had the same question what should their response be? People who want to help. And and it absolutely is the case that there is a spirit of generosity in Missoula and I guess along the lines of anything else that. You can think of that our listeners can do to be involved and help out in this specific case. Should I open my wallet there on the street corner, or is there a better response and way that I could be involved?

Jill Bonny: [00:20:23] I think it's better to connect people to resources and so to say, I'd love to help you out, but are you aware that the Poverello Center is providing three meals a day? Have you tried to get a meal from there? And if they say I can't go to the pub, let them know about the homeless outreach team. They'd be happy to bring a sack lunch to someone who's not able to come. And so I think because that's not only connecting them to that meal, but it's also connecting them to people who are going to be supportive and that almost that informal safety net in a community at a shelter. Right. And so then they could be like, this isn't so bad. I will just stay here and be out of the cold. They could get connected by something they see on the bulletin board that helps them get housing or, or a job, and they could just sit down and rest a little bit. That's not on the street. So I think connecting them is the biggest thing. That's what I do if someone approaches me for money is say, are you aware of the Poverello Center? And do you know that we're serving three meals a day and there's a hot meal served at Johnson Street every day. And so these are places where you can get food every day. And some people know and some people don't.

Josh Slotnick: [00:21:34] So you mentioned the homeless outreach team. Yeah. Can you describe what the what those folks do?

Jill Bonny: [00:21:38] Yeah, they're the cool kids. So they wear orange and they drive an orange van and they really work with people who are living unsheltered. And so people who are shelter resistant, which means they are either cannot come into shelter or right now are choosing not to come into shelter. And many times, the reason that they're choosing not to come into shelter right now is because of lack of trust or relationship. And so the hot team really works with people to create that trust and that relationship, so that hopefully eventually they will come into shelter or sometimes they move directly. The hot team worked with someone who moved directly to Blue Heron Place, permanent supportive housing from the street, and didn't go through shelter. And so just really a.

Juanita Vero: [00:22:25] Great starting.

Jill Bonny: [00:22:26] With them through those relationships and that trust building. They also work with businesses around town, really, and try to help them understand the reasons and the causes of homelessness, how they can talk to people. Like your question, Dave, things like that. They're a phone call that businesses can make so that they don't have to call the police.

Juanita Vero: [00:22:49] Realizing how much time it takes to develop that trust and appreciate what hot team is doing in those frequent contacts. Like, I mean, it's not just, oh, they make contact with this guy, and then the next time he's at Blue Heron. No, I mean, it took years, years, years of developing it. And I think people, you know, hear the word, oh, we have services that we're providing and think that it happens so quickly. If I just call the hot team or call the Pov, it's going to be, you know, snap of finger.

Josh Slotnick: [00:23:20] And whether a person is living outside or indoors, trust is hard to build.

Juanita Vero: [00:23:24] Oh yes it.

Jill Bonny: [00:23:25] Is, it is. And I think, you know, sometimes, you know, when it gets super cold outside and the POV and Johnson Street will get more full, that's because we have individuals that don't come into shelter until they have to, but at least they're coming when they have to.

Josh Slotnick: [00:23:41] So as of late, today is a rainy day, but past a couple of weeks, it's been nice. I feel like I've seen fewer homeless people around our little building, the courthouse lawn downtown. Then let's say this time last year, is that is that accurate?

Jill Bonny: [00:23:54] Well, we're still sleeping 100 people at the Johnson Street shelter. So every night. And and this is the first year it's been open at this time of year. Okay. So the last three years we closed in April.

Josh Slotnick: [00:24:05] So we're really seeing an effect.

Juanita Vero: [00:24:07] Yeah of Johnson Street being open.

Josh Slotnick: [00:24:09] Yeah. So we're very grateful for that. And also recognize that for people who live in houses near Johnson Street they're paying a price. What do you say to those folks?

Jill Bonny: [00:24:21] We are really difficult neighbors to have. And we try really hard to do the best we can. We try to develop relationships with our neighbors. We have conversations with the people that are staying with us. And this this time this year, we are trying to work on ways to encourage people to hang out at Johnson Street instead of going in the neighborhood. Right. And so things are working.

Josh Slotnick: [00:24:45] I did a long bike ride yesterday on the length of Kim Williams and then up into Patty Canyon. And I saw one tent.

Jill Bonny: [00:24:50] Wow. Yeah.

Josh Slotnick: [00:24:51] Only one, only one. And last fall, walking to a football game, I probably saw a dozen tents.

Jill Bonny: [00:24:57] Yeah, if you know where you're going to be able to sleep that night and nobody is going to come and tell you to move, and that's in a shelter that and there's going to be a bed because there's enough room. Then there's. That security, and you don't have to worry about where you're going to sleep.

Josh Slotnick: [00:25:13] So, Jill, thinking about the last 40 years, let's say less than that, even though it's just than the time that you've been there. Yeah. [00:25:20] Not only is the Pov seeing more people, I imagine the Pov seeing a greater breadth of humanity. Are there demographic shifts? Who are we seeing out there in the population of folks who are living outside? [00:25:31]

Jill Bonny: [00:25:31]  [00:25:31]We're really seeing the two ends of the spectrum. So the our older individuals and our younger individuals. And so we have seen over the last 2 to 3 years, a 40% increase in individuals that are over the age of 60. [00:25:46]

Josh Slotnick: [00:25:46]  [00:25:46]Oh, man. [00:25:47]

Jill Bonny: [00:25:47]  [00:25:47]Yeah. If you can imagine trying to live on the rent that we have now with a Social Security check, the math doesn't add up. Wow. [00:25:55]

Josh Slotnick: [00:25:55]  [00:25:55]So you mean you have folks at the Pov who are getting money every month? [00:25:59]

Jill Bonny: [00:25:59]  [00:25:59]Yes, I would say around 40 to 50% of people actually have income at the Pov, whether it's from a job or disability or Social Security. They have income coming in. [00:26:10]

Josh Slotnick: [00:26:10] They're just attempting to apply that income to the least affordable housing market in the country.

Jill Bonny: [00:26:15] Yeah. And then the other side of the spectrum is our younger population. And so really we see a lot of that transitional age youth. So 18 to 24. And many of those are kids that are aging out of the foster care system. And so they don't have that support anymore. Right where I could fall back on my parents, they don't have that ability. And so many times they end up in the shelter.

Juanita Vero: [00:26:42] Explain that. So as a foster kid and I'm ignorant, um, when you're 18, that relationship is completely severed. As in, even if your foster family wanted to provide support, it's like, I don't understand how.

Jill Bonny: [00:26:54] It want to. Okay. Yeah.

Juanita Vero: [00:26:55] But so, yeah, the relationship has frayed and there's no other support for that child.

Josh Slotnick: [00:27:01] People who are foster parents, they're doing an incredible thing, a huge act of generosity altering their lives. And there is a small stipend, a little bit of finances provided to attempt to take the edge off. I'm sure it is not does not cover all of it, but post 18, that family wouldn't get any of those resources.

Jill Bonny: [00:27:17] So then they don't have any and any funds coming in.

Juanita Vero: [00:27:19] No support for that. Yeah. Youth then, um, either from their family or from the community.

Jill Bonny: [00:27:24] Yeah. So really it's it's the two ends of the spectrum, our older population and our youngest.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:27:30] Going back to a question we need to ask earlier in terms of I'm a listener or community member and want to help out. You mentioned earlier volunteers and maybe some of the challenges in terms of tapering off of some of the spirit of volunteerism that we might have seen in the community in years past. Are there opportunities? I'm assuming there are, that if someone wants to volunteer doing something at the Pov, what would that look like and how would someone get engaged?

Jill Bonny: [00:27:58] There are so many ways that you can get involved with volunteering at the Pov. I would say some of my favorite ways and the ways that I hear from people are their favorite are doing some preparation work and serving meals in the kitchen. Really, many of the people who live in the shelter also work in the kitchen. And so if you prepare meals, you could be working alongside and really holding a conversation and hearing the story of someone who has been living there and then serving food is always rewarding. You can go out with the homeless outreach team, which means you can go downtown with them or out to the camps with them, and that's always a favorite to be able to spend a couple hours with them and really understand that unsheltered life. And then we also do things like big neighborhood cleanups. And so we'll have big groups that will come in, like from a church or from a bank, and they will just spend a few hours and clean up in the neighborhood of the two shelters, which is really appreciated by the people that live in the area.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:28:57] Great ideas.

Jill Bonny: [00:28:58] Thank you. Yeah. Just contact us at the Pov and we would love to set you up with a volunteer opportunity.

Juanita Vero: [00:29:04] I was gonna say, is there anything that we haven't talked about that you want to talk about?

Jill Bonny: [00:29:07] I do want to talk a little bit about our 50th anniversary.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:29:09] Oh yeah, talk about the 50th and what's going on at the library right now.

Jill Bonny: [00:29:13] Yeah. So we have a great interactive display. It sounds like Josh has been there and enjoyed it. And so that is up through the end of June. And then it is going to the Mansfield Library for a while, and we're hoping to get it to travel around a little bit more after that. But it's beautiful. It's got three pillars of our from our mission. And then it also has the history of the Pov by decade. And so really like what was happening in the 70s, what was happening in the 80s. And you can really see what was different and what is the same as what is happening now. And on the night of the 27th, we have a gala that we will be putting on on the fourth floor of the library for the 50th anniversary, and we would love to have as many people come as possible. We'll have food and drinks and live music and tell stories, and I think it'll be a great time. Fantastic. Yeah.

Josh Slotnick: [00:30:07] Say the date of that.

Jill Bonny: [00:30:08] Again June 27th. That starts at five. You can come anytime after five.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:30:12] Okay.

Josh Slotnick: [00:30:12] Sounds great. Great. So one other thing here. When talking about people who live outside versus people who are living inside, we heard from some of our compatriots who share our job.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:30:23] Share our job in other counties, perhaps.

Josh Slotnick: [00:30:25] Ah, yes. Yes, share our job in other counties.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:30:27] Our job. Thank you, thank you. I've got my job shadower right here in the room. Okay.

Josh Slotnick: [00:30:32] Share our job. But live and work in other counties that we're just helping foster people who've chosen a lifestyle. What would you suggest as the best response to that?

Jill Bonny: [00:30:41] Oh, [00:30:42] I just don't know who would choose a lifestyle to live outside. And I know that you can have a conversation with someone and they could say, I don't want to go to shelter or I don't want to go to housing, I want to be outside or I am choosing this. But most of the time, if you continue that conversation, really there are things that have happened in their past where they've been told no and come up against roadblocks so many times that it is just safer for them caring for themselves to say, this is my choice and this is where I want to be, then be told no or hit those roadblocks and be disappointed again. [00:31:18]

Josh Slotnick: [00:31:18] Thanks for that. Yeah. Okay. This is our last question. Okay. So in your recent past, if you come across some nugget of wisdom worth repeating, this can be anything from a podcast or a book movie, a conversation you overheard somewhere, anything you heard recently that really stuck with you. I don't know if.

Jill Bonny: [00:31:34] I have a nugget, but I do have a favorite podcast. Oh, besides the agenda.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:31:39] Ah, that is the right answer here.

Jill Bonny: [00:31:43] Usually I really like when I don't want to think about real world stuff. I like true crime stuff. I knew you were going to say true crime, I just. But but my favorite is a podcast called Pantsuit Politics, and it's two women that are talking about, you know, it, politics. Yeah. And I've listened to it for years and I just love it. They do are the two women, Beth and Sarah.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:32:05] I was put onto this through leadership.

Juanita Vero: [00:32:07] Montana probably heard of it.

Josh Slotnick: [00:32:09] They probably follow one.

Jill Bonny: [00:32:11] Probably. Yeah.

Juanita Vero: [00:32:12] I'm so embarrassed. I've never heard of this podcast.

Jill Bonny: [00:32:15] Oh it's great. I think they do it whenever I'm like together. I don't understand what is happening right now. I will go and listen to their episode because they break it down really well. Oh, they're both attorneys. Check it out and then put their spin on it, which is also helpful.

Josh Slotnick: [00:32:31] Right now, everyone in the room is looking at their phone and.

Jill Bonny: [00:32:34] I'm looking at pantsuit. Tell them I put in a plug for you all. Yeah. And they they did write a book also about something about I don't agree with you, but I'm it's about it's called.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:32:46] I think you're wrong, but I'm.

Jill Bonny: [00:32:48] Wrong. But I'm listening.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:32:49] I would highly recommend this book.

Josh Slotnick: [00:32:51] You never hear that phrase.

Juanita Vero: [00:32:52] Yeah, I think you're.

Jill Bonny: [00:32:53] Wrong, but I'm listening. Right? Like, I'm not gonna.

Juanita Vero: [00:32:57] Just hear Sara Stuart Holland. Yeah, okay, check it out.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:33:01] But no, that's the.

Juanita Vero: [00:33:02] Book that you're talking about. That's what they wrote. Okay. Yeah, I think.

Josh Slotnick: [00:33:05] You're wrong, but I'm listening. Yeah. What a great phrase.

Jill Bonny: [00:33:07] And talk a lot about having hard conversations with family members that don't agree with you. And, um, yeah, it's a it's good.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:33:15] Check it out. That's a good.

Josh Slotnick: [00:33:16] One. Yeah. Well, Jill, thanks so.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:33:17] Much so much.

Josh Slotnick: [00:33:18] Yeah. Thank you. You guys do heroic work. Thank you, thank you.

Jill Bonny: [00:33:21] Yes.

Juanita Vero: [00:33:22] Thank you so much.

Jill Bonny: [00:33:23] Thanks for your support.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:33:24] You bet. Goodbye.

Juanita Vero: [00:33:25] Bye bye. Bye bye.

Josh Slotnick: [00:33:26] Thanks for listening to the agenda. If you enjoy these conversations, it would mean a lot. If you rate and review the show on whichever podcast app you use.

Juanita Vero: [00:33:34] And if you know a friend who would like to keep up with what's happening in local government, be sure to recommend this podcast to them.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:33:40] The agenda with the Missoula County Commissioners is made possible with support from Missoula Community Access Television, better known as MCAT, and our staff in the Missoula County Communications Division.

Josh Slotnick: [00:33:52] If you have a question or a topic you'd like us to discuss on a future episode, email it to communications@missoulacounty.us.

Juanita Vero: [00:33:59] To find out other ways to stay up to date with what's happening in Missoula County, go to Missoula.co/countyupdates.

Dave Strohmaier: [00:34:07] Thanks for listening.