Home Resource

Zero waste systems & education: reducing waste, building a more vibrant and sustainable local economy, and educating and inspiring to promote sustainability. Our zero waste programs work to transform our relationship with things to reduce our demand for extracted 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. Home resource worked to achieve goals and actions in the education and infrastructure pathways of the plan, and continued work on building reuse and recycling infrastructure in missoula. Over the past 12 months, home resource led green team efforts at five of missoula's largest community events and helped divert over 100,000 pounds of waste from the local landfill to compost and recycling facilities. Our education program, the zero waste ambassador program (zwap!) takes place during the school year. During the most recent school year, we reached seventy 5th grade classes from 23 area schools, educating over 987 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. For the past twenty-one years, home resource has hosted a spontaneous construction event where 20 teams representing 65 individuals participate in an educational, reused materials building contest.

Work training & community engagement programs: home resource provided meaningful work experiences, educating and inspiring to promote sustainability. Home resource provided meaningful work with mentoring, dignity, and job skills training to 25 work program participants experiencing barriers to employment such as age, a history of incarceration or addiction, or mental and physical challenges. 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. 318 people volunteered for home resource, including 186 community service volunteers, working a total of 2,150 hours helping to process reusable building materials in our store. We continued our partnership with the lifelong learning center to offer classes to the entire missoula community getting more people into our woodshop and engaged with home resource. During the year, we hosted 51 workshops with a total of 296 participants. In addition, 48 low to moderate income individuals learned reuse skills in our workshops, building projects with reused materials. Home resource hosted 9 in-person fix-it clinics teaching repair skills and keeping items in use from textiles to small engines and appliances with 73 participants and coaches.