Every January, cities across the U.S. attempt to count the number of Homeless people in their area. Michael Moore of Reaching Home: Missoula's 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness says that data from last year shows that hundreds of folks are homeless in Missoula.

"We figured that the number has got to be in the 700 range and it could well be higher than that," Moore said. "If you look at 700 for 70,000 member city, that's about the national average. So that number is not a surprise to us."

Moore was installed as director of the ten year plan about a year ago and says Missoula has made significant gains in reducing the number of people living on the street.

"What makes us happy this year is that housing 250 out of 750, or 650 to 700 people is pretty good and is better than sort of the national average for communities that are in their first year of their ten year plans," he said.

Moore says that one of the most successful programs for decreasing the number of homeless in 2014 was a rental assistance program that helped those that could afford month-to-month rent, but were having trouble coming up with the security deposit.

 

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