Helena Homeless Center Finds Permanent Home at Thrift Store

After bouncing between temporary locations for years, Helena's homeless community is getting something they've desperately needed: stability.

Our Place Drop-in and Recovery Center serves as a daytime shelter where people experiencing homelessness and behavioral health challenges can escape the cold, take life skills classes, and access the internet. Now it's moving into a permanent space at Good Samaritan Ministries Thrift Store on North Montana Avenue.

The center will occupy half the thrift store building while the other half undergoes a two-phase renovation. The new space will include a main gathering room, telehealth room, storage, and laundry facilities, with its own side entrance to preserve clients' dignity and privacy.

Manager Mikayla Kapphan says having a permanent location means everything after years of uncertainty. The center previously operated from Last Chance Gulch until 2024, when the building was purchased and Our Place had to relocate.

Habitat for Humanity offered a temporary home on National Avenue, which Kapphan described as "huge relief." But that was always meant to be short-term while the organization planned a bigger move to a renovated building on Cooke Street.

Those plans fell through when Good Samaritan pulled out of a partnership with Family Promise over financial concerns. Our Place needed to find yet another home.

The Ripple Effect

The city of Helena stepped up with a $162,600 grant to cover most of the $198,000 project cost. Good Samaritan Ministries Mission and Strategy Manager Eric Kroeger expects renovations to finish in March 2025.

The stability matters because homelessness doesn't pause while organizations search for space. During Montana's harsh winters, having a consistent place where people can warm up, connect with services, and build community can be lifesaving.

For the clients who rely on Our Place daily, knowing where to go tomorrow without wondering if that location will disappear next month restores a small piece of predictability to unpredictable lives.

The partnership between Good Samaritan Ministries and the Catholic Diocese of Helena also demonstrates how collaboration can solve complex social challenges when individual organizations can't manage alone.

A permanent home means Our Place can finally focus on expanding services rather than scrambling for space.