Home Resource

HOME RESOURCE COLLECTS AND SELLS REUSABLE BUILDING MATERIALS TO REDUCE WASTE AND BUILD A VIBRANT AND SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ECONOMY. WE CHANNEL USED BUILDING MATERIALS TO THOSE IN NEED AND EDUCATE THE BROADER COMMUNITY ABOUT REUSE.

STORE OPERATIONS: REDUCING WASTE, BUILDING A VIBRANT AND SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ECONOMY, CHANNELING MATERIALS TO THOSE IN NEED, PROVIDING MEANINGFUL WORK EXPERIENCES, EDUCATING AND INSPIRING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY. HOME RESOURCE STORE OPERATIONS CONTINUE TO COLLECT AND SELL USED BUILDING MATERIALS TO REDUCE WASTE, PROVIDE AFFORDABLE MATERIALS, AND KEEP THEM IN THE LOCAL ECONOMY. OVER 41,000 WESTERN MONTANA RESIDENTS ACROSS THE DEMOGRAPHIC SPECTRUM SHOPPED, DONATED, VOLUNTEERED OR PARTICIPATED IN ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF OUR MISSION. OUR STORE OPERATIONS FACILITATED THE REUSE OF 784 TONS OF MATERIALS AND THE RECYCLING OF 100'S OF TONS, ELIMINATING THE TRANSPORTATION AND PRODUCTION-RELATED PHYSICAL DEGRADATION, ENERGY AND POLLUTANTS ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCING NEW ITEMS, REDUCING LANDFILL-RELATED GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, PROMOTING A CULTURE OF REUSE AND PROVIDING AFFORDABLE BUILDING MATERIALS TO THE COMMUNITY. HOME RESOURCE IS STILL FEELING THE IMPACTS OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC. THIS HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY TRUE IN THE AREAS OF GROUP WORKSHOPS AND CLASSES MEANING THAT MANY OF OUR ANNUAL NUMBERS (SALES, DONATIONS, TONS KEPT OUT OF THE LANDFILL, VOLUNTEERS, WORK PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS AND INTERNS) ARE LESS THAN PRIOR YEARS. IN 2021, HOME RESOURCE EMPLOYED 51 MISSOULIANS, 67% OF OUR INCOME WAS FROM THE SALE OF PUBLICLY DONATED MATERIALS, THE RETAIL STORE HAD 41,834 TRANSACTIONS, 45% OF ALL SALES WERE $5.00 OR LESS, 65% WERE $10 OR LESS, AND THE AVERAGE SALE AMOUNT WAS $18.01. WE SPENT 96% OF ALL HOME RESOURCE'S EXPENDITURES IN THE LOCAL ECONOMY. HOME RESOURCE DONATED OVER $2,679 WORTH OF CONSTRUCTION AND PROJECT MATERIALS TO 157 LOCAL NONPROFITS, SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES THROUGH OUR MATERIALS GIVING PROGRAM.

ZERO WASTE: REDUCING WASTE, BUILDING A MORE VIBRANT AND SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ECONOMY, AND EDUCATING AND INSPIRING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY.OUR ZERO WASTE (ZW) PROGRAMS WORK TO TRANSFORM OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THINGS TO REDUCE OUR DEMAND ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND MITIGATE CLIMATE IMPACTS OF THE MATERIALS ECONOMY WHILE HELPING GENERATE A LOCAL REGENERATIVE ECONOMY. WE ARE WORKING TO BUILD A CULTURE OF ZERO WASTE AND HELP REACH MISSOULA'S ZERO BY FIFTY GOAL OF 90% WASTE REDUCTION BY 2050 BY ADDRESSING POLICY, EDUCATION, ACCESS AND INFRASTRUCTURE WITH MULTIPLE COMMUNITY PARTNERS. IN 2021, HOME RESOURCE WORKED TO ACHIEVE GOALS AND ACTIONS IN THE EDUCATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE PATHWAYS OF THE PLAN, AND CONTINUED WORK ON BUILDING ZW (REUSE AND RECYCLING) INFRASTRUCTURE IN MISSOULA WITH A FOCUS ON NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND MISSOULA COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND WORKED WITH BUSINESSES TO SUPPORT INCREASING THEIR CAPACITY TO BE ZERO WASTE, AND INITIATED AND FACILITATED THE MISSOULA ZERO WASTE INFRASTRUCTURE TASK FORCE TO PROACTIVELY DETERMINE AND BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO HELP DRIVE A CIRCULAR, REGENERATIVE ECONOMY. HOME RESOURCE HOSTED FIVE IN-PERSON FIX-IT CLINICS TEACHING REPAIR SKILLS AND KEEPING ITEMS IN USE FROM TEXTILES TO SMALL ENGINES AND APPLIANCES WITH 21 PARTICIPANTS AND STEWARDED MONTHLY ONLINE FIX-IT CLINICS AS WELL.EDUCATION: REDUCING WASTE, BUILDING A MORE VIBRANT AND SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ECONOMY, AND EDUCATING AND INSPIRING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY. OUR FLAGSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM, THE ZERO WASTE AMBASSADORS PROGRAM (ZWAP!) TYPICALLY TAKES PLACE IN THE SPRING WHEN WE WERE MOSTLY SHUT DOWN FOR COVID. DESPITE THIS SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE TO OUR IN-PERSON 3.5 HOUR PROGRAM, WE REACHED 21 5TH GRADE CLASSES FROM 12 MCPS, PRIVATE AND OUT-OF-DISTRICT SCHOOLS, EDUCATING OVER 413 5TH GRADERS WITH OUR STEM-ALIGNED, INQUIRY-BASED CURRICULUM THAT TEACHES STUDENTS WHERE MATERIALS COME FROM, WHERE THEY GO, AND EMPOWERS THEM TO MAKE CHOICES THAT LEAD US ALL TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. DUE TO COVID 19 RESTRICTIONS, ESPECIALLY SOCIAL DISTANCING AND LIMITING TIME IN ENCLOSED SPACES, HR OFFERED MANY LESS SKILL-BUILDING WORKSHOPS, COMMUNITY PROJECTS, IN PERSON PRESENTATIONS AND REUSE ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES THAN USUAL, BUT STILL ENGAGED 29 INDIVIDUALS IN ACTIVITIES, THE MAJORITY OF WHOM ARE LOW-TO-MODERATE INCOME, MADE NUMEROUS ZOOM PRESENTATIONS TO COMMUNITY GROUPS AND CLASSES, COLLABORATIVELY STEWARDED THE WEEKLY SUSTAINABLE MISSOULA COLUMN IN THE MISSOULA CURRENT. HOME RESOURCE HOSTED OUR 17TH ANNUAL SPONTANEOUS CONSTRUCTION WITH COVID RESTRICTIONS (ON SITE FOR TEAMS BUT NO SPECTATORS AND CONTINUOUS LIVE-STREAMING). 24 TEAMS REPRESENTING 83 INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATED IN OUR EDUCATIONAL, REUSED-MATERIALS BUILDING CONTEST.

WORK PROGRAMS: PROVIDING MEANINGFUL WORK EXPERIENCES, EDUCATING AND INSPIRING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY.IN 2021, HOME RESOURCE PROVIDED MEANINGFUL WORK WITH MENTORING, DIGNITY, AND JOB SKILLS TRAINING TO 12 WORK PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCING BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT SUCH AS AGE, A HISTORY OF INCARCERATION OR ADDICTION, OR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CHALLENGES. OF THESE, TEN WERE PARTICIPANTS IN OUR YOUTH INTERNSHIP OR YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS WHICH PARTNER WITH HIGH SCHOOLS AND YOUTH-FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS TO OFFER A SAFE, STRUCTURED WORK ENVIRONMENT AND SKILL-DEVELOPMENT TO LAUNCH THE CAREERS OF YOUTH LESS THAN 24 YEARS OLD. THREE YOUTH PROGRAM GRADUATES WERE HIRED AS WAREHOUSE ASSISTANTS IN 2021. 29 LOW TO MODERATE INCOME INDIVIDUALS LEARNED REUSE AND JOB SKILLS IN WORKSHOPS AND BUILDING COMMUNITY PROJECTS WITH REUSED MATERIALS BEFORE OUR SHOP CLOSED DOWN. 48 PEOPLE VOLUNTEERED FOR HOME RESOURCE, INCLUDING 25 COMMUNITY SERVICE VOLUNTEERS, WORKING A TOTAL OF 1262 HOURS FOR HOME RESOURCE.