BUTTE — After feeding a record number of people in the community who are food insecure, the Butte Rescue Mission says that it finally received enough funding to start construction on an old building that will help them feed even more people who are in need of assistance.
On Feb. 20, the Montana Department of Commerce announced it will give $5 million in grant funding for 10 non-profit organizations across the state. The Butte Rescue Mission received $750,000 of that funding that will allow them to begin construction on the Center of Hope, a project that has been delayed for nearly three years due to rising construction costs.
The new building will add an additional 10,000 square feet of space to serve meals and keep people out of the cold and according to emergency shelter staff, the improvements are much needed.
"Busted a hump my whole life and here I am all because of one small incident," says Daniel Lacy.
Lacy and about a dozen others seeking assistance crowd onto the emergency shelter's deck waiting to sign up for one of the 16 beds available for the night.
Lacy says he found himself stranded in Butte after he wrecked his semi-truck on the interstate last year.
"I don’t remember anything except for tipping over. I probably hit black ice. I don’t remember if I was suicidal. I have no idea," says Lacy.
Lacy says he struggles with physical and mental health issues that have left him unable to work so he’s been using Butte’s emergency shelter.
"We’ve seen big growth in homeless individuals, so we’ll see the need grow for food distribution," says Brayton Erickson, the executive director of the Butte Rescue Mission.
"We’re just seeing more and more of a need in the community on food insecurities and so last year we served 90,000 meals to the guests that stay here and the general public and so that was a lot of food," he adds.
According to an annual report released to Congress in December 2023, Montana is among the states leading the nation in individuals experiencing chronic patterns of homelessness. Montana saw a 551% increase in individuals experiencing chronic patterns of homelessness from 2007 to 2023, according to the 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress.
The new space will feature an area for medical care, new office spaces, and a large kitchen for food preparation, along with an extra space in the dining area that will come in handy during Butte's frigid winters.
"You know, we’re here to be the safeguard and the safe fall for those to create a safe space to heal from those instances so that there’s not more trauma in those lives. And that really makes for a healthy community, and that’s our goal," says Erickson.
Construction on the new facility will begin this spring, and Erickson says it will likely be finished by next winter.
"God bless this mission. You know, I do appreciate having a roof over my head and a shower and food to eat," says Lacy.
