Pathways to Housing Stability

Location:	Montana
Posted:	Feb 2, 2026
Due:	Mar 4, 2026
Agency:	City of Missoula
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	66 - Instruments and Laboratory Equipment
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Pathways to Housing Stability:

A Project to Build Housing Retention

Services

Request for Proposals

Deadline for responses:

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 4:00pm MT

Submit Proposals Online Using this URL: http://bit.ly/49qAVqK

Please send any questions to Emily Armstrong, Houseless Programs Manager at

armstronge@ci.missoula.mt.us

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Background

Community partners and Missoula residents worked together to develop and adopt On Our Way Home:

Missoula Community Houselessness Strategy 2025-2028. The strategy, adopted by 10 community

agencies including nonprofits, local government, and Missoula Public Health, outlines three primary

areas of focus to lead Missoula forward in addressing houselessness:

1. Right-size the number of beds dedicated for people who are houseless and the services that

support housing retention to meet the needs of the houseless population.

2. Secure funding for high-priority activities.

3. Support an increase in capacity for provider organizations.

City of Missoula, as an adopter of On Our Way Home and the strategic backbone of the local system of

care, seeks to work with agencies with expertise in housing retention services and case management to

make progress on these areas through Pathways to Housing Stability.

URL mentioned above: https://www.engagemissoula.com/24105/widgets/80558/documents/64264

Pathways to Housing Stability Grant Overview

City of Missoula was awarded funding from the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust for the Pathways to

Housing Stability project. Pathways to Housing Stability will partner with nonprofit, faith-based, and/or

behavioral health partners to build a housing retention case management program to improve housing

stability and reduce returns to houselessness through targeted, long-term support.

City of Missoula seeks qualified organizations with proven expertise and success in providing housing

retention case management or other post-tenancy supportive services to neighbors exiting

houselessness, including those with a history of substance use or impacted by opioid use.

Many neighbors move into non-supported, scattered site housing placements each month. This project

seeks to build out local programs that can serve this population well through services designed for

scattered site housing, non-supportive housing, and non-congregate settings. Housing retention

program proposals designed for congregate and/or supportive housing settings will be considered if

they offer new services, services to new housing settings, or expand the scope of existing services.

Local, regional, or national organizations are welcome to respond.

Pathways to Housing Stability will establish formal, multidisciplinary housing retention case

management program(s) in partnership with skilled organizations. These teams may consist of case

managers, peer support specialists, clinicians, advocates, mediators, occupational therapists, or other

relevant positions to provide personalized, wraparound services that address substance use recovery,

income barriers, health needs, and more – all focused on long-term housing stability.

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This RFP is designed for the development of new programs/services or existing programs seeking to

expand their reach to fill local service gaps.

Long-term housing stability can be impacted by a variety of factors in addition to housing retention case

management. We are open to creative program models as long as they clearly contribute to increased

housing stability.

OBJECTIVES

• Improve housing stability and security for unhoused individuals, including those impacted by

opioid use.

• Support positive health and well-being outcomes for neighbors exiting houselessness into

secure housing.

• Increase system-wide understanding of what individuals need to successfully remain housed.

• Improve local data and reporting on housing retention, including tracking and reporting specific

measures related to housing security and stability.

• Decrease returns to houselessness by strengthening housing retention services.

INTENDED RESULTS

• 75% of program participants will retain stable housing after working with housing retention case

management teams for 12 months, as measured by program data collection.

• Hospitalization and/or emergency department visits will decrease by 35% for those engaged

with housing retention case management teams, evidenced by program data collection and, if

available, medical reports.

URL mentioned above: https://montanaopioid.org/

Project Budget

The budget available through this RFP is $945,000. Project funding will run from July 1, 2026 through

June 30, 2028. Submitted proposals should stay within this budget expectation. The review and

selection committee may choose to select one or multiple projects.

Pathways to Housing Stability aims to create sustainable housing retention services in Missoula. Funding

sustainability beyond the lifetime of the Pathways to Housing Stability grant will be a consideration in

proposal review and selection.

Montana Department of Health and Human Services recently launched Tenancy Support Services and

the Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative as billable services through the federal 1115 waiver, approved by

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). If applicable, use of these billable models should be

integrated as a measure for sustainable funding and detailed in Selection Criteria, section B.

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Timeline and Submission

This Request for Proposals is available to any organization with experience and proven success in

delivery of supportive services to individuals exiting houselessness and transitioning into stable living

environments. Proposals are due by Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 4:00pm MT. Responses should be

submitted using this link: http://bit.ly/49qAVqK.

Key Service Values

Housing Focused Service Design & Housing First – Housing Focused Service Design prioritizes

connecting people experiencing houselessness to lifesaving, person-centered, and culturally responsive

services and resources while actively working towards securing stable and permanent housing

solutions. All aspects of program design and administration are curated to support neighbors in

achieving stable housing solutions.

Housing First is a houseless assistance approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people

experiencing houselessness, thus ending their houselessness and serving as a platform from which they

can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life. This approach is guided by the belief that

people need basic necessities like food and a place to live before attending to anything else, such as

getting a job, budgeting properly, or attending to substance use. Additionally, Housing First is based on

the theory that client choice is valuable in housing selection and supportive service participation, and

that exercising that choice is likely to make a client more successful in remaining housed and improving

their life (National Alliance to End Homelessness).

Trauma Informed Care – An approach to supportive services that shifts the focus from “what is wrong

with you?” to “what happened to you?” Trauma-informed care recognizes the presence of trauma

symptoms and accounts for the role that trauma may play in a person’s daily experiences when

designing service models and delivering person-centered supports to each unique individual.

Support for Historically Excluded Groups – Populations including those who are LGBTQIA2S+, Native

American/Alaskan Native, and/or Black or Brown consistently experience houselessness and housing

instability at higher rates than the general population, as a result of historical exclusion and

marginalization. As such, it is vital that programs to alleviate or minimize houselessness are particularly

accessible and available to these populations. City of Missoula is committed to working with partners

who understand the reality of exclusion and systemic racism and actively work to create policies that

disrupt these disparities and strive to serve all Missoulians well.

Low Barrier – A low-barrier approach to services seeks to “screen-in” rather than screen-out

participants, making services free from as many requirements as possible that might deter or exclude a

person from participating. This approach puts the onus on the service provider to make services

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accessible and appealing to participants, and limits requirements around sobriety, background checks,

or employment.

URL mentioned above: https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/

Selection Criteria & Response Components

An evaluation committee will review each written proposal. The review committee reserves the right to

reject any or all written responses or portions thereof. All costs incurred in the preparation and

presentation of the submitted response, in any way whatsoever, shall be wholly absorbed by the

prospective contractor. Interviews may or may not be conducted prior to selection. Criteria for ratings

will include the following:

A. 5 points: Experience and proven success delivering housing retention case management

or other post-tenancy supportive services, resulting in long-term housing stability.

B. 5 points: Experience and proven success working with relevant populations, including

both: a) people who are/were unhoused AND b) people who use(d) substances,

including those impacted by opioid use.

C. 5 points: Use of clear, evidence-based services framework and philosophy of care.

D. Demonstration of impact on Missoula’s system of care.

i. 3 points: Proven understanding of Missoula’s services landscape.

ii. 3 points: Specific population(s) of focus and ways in which your program design

fills an existing service gap.

iii. 3 points: Alignment with Key Service Values as outlined in this RFP.

E. 5 points: Budget outline.

F. 5 points: Strength of programmatic and financial sustainability plan after the conclusion

of Pathways to Housing Stability grant period.

G. 5 points: Clear plan for data collection and use of data to improve knowledge of housing

retention needs and gaps within the larger system of care.

Respondents should address the following:

A. Experience and proven success delivering housing retention case management or other post-

tenancy supportive services, resulting in long-term housing stability. (5 pts)

Provide a brief background on your organization’s mission, core values, and goals as they relate

to Pathways to Housing Stability.

Describe your experience delivering housing retention case management, post-tenancy support,

and/or other similar supportive services designed to support previously unhoused neighbors as

they move into and stabilize in housing. Highlight lessons learned and ability to be nimble and

adapt to changing program needs.

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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

Bid Title:	Pathways to Housing Stability
Category:	Request for Proposals (RFPs)
Status:	Open