Home Resource

Target demographics: reduce waste and build a more vibrant & sustainable local economy

Geographic areas served: Missoula, MT

Programs: Founded in 2003 by two University of Montana graduates interested in sustainability and alarmed by the amount of construction and demolition waste entering our landfill, today Home ReSource keeps 900+ tons of material a year out of the landfill, employs 25 staff, spawned spun-off a thriving deconstruction business, and supports a strong local economy by spending more than 96% of their annual budget in the Missoula economy. As our green business flourished (voted Missoula’s best green business five years in a row), we saw opportunities to leverage social and financial capital from our operations to address increasingly urgent social, economic, and environmental issues. We are now well into the process of transforming Home ReSource into a community sustainability center with diverse, replicable programs that deliver powerful local and regional impact. Community Sustainability Programs: We believe an integrated approach to social change that addresses all aspects of sustainability is essential to a truly vibrant future. We aspire to create, promote, and propagate sustainable systems and structures (with a focus on waste), inspire and empower the next generation of sustainability leaders, and demonstrate that a truly thriving and just economy includes everyone. Sustainability drives our business and program decisions, from springing for LED light bulbs and intentionally sourcing the fabric for staff sweatshirts to offering our employees living wages; from providing dignified job opportunities for people experiencing barriers to employment to ambitious and educational Zero Waste programming designed to shift the cultural norm. Success for us means empowering Missoulians across socioeconomic sectors with the knowledge, skills, and inspiration to make choices that lead toward ever-greater economic, social, and environmental sustainability. At Home ReSource we are committed to sharing the resources we have (materials, compassion, creativity, knowledge, and skills) to continue modeling a successful green business with diverse programs that address critical issues today, and build a resilient, inclusive community and economy for tomorrow. • Our Zero Waste Ambassadors Program (ZWAP!) creates a generation equipped with the framework, knowledge, skills, and inspiration to lead our community to a thriving future. This STEM-aligned, inquiry-based education program is offered to all fifth graders in the area, has reached more than 2,700 students since its inception in 2016, and won a sustainability education award from the Montana Environmental Educators Association last year. ZWAP! empowers students to make small choices that cumulatively generate big change and to encourage their parents and communities to do the same. • Youth Internship & Apprenticeship Programs partner with area high schools and other youth-focused programs to identify vulnerable young people and provide them with a safe, structured work environment, mentoring, job training, school credit, a reference, and – for some – a permanent position at HR. • Work Programs partner with other nonprofits and government agencies to provide older adults with updated vocational experience, physically or cognitively limited adults with work opportunities, and people experiencing homelessness, veterans, and folks exiting the criminal justice system with job training, mentoring, and a professional reference. • Community-wide Zero Waste efforts engage constituents across economic, social, and political sectors in achieving ambitious waste reduction goals. HR has developed Zero Waste plans for the City of Missoula (adopted by City Council 8/2018) and Missoula County Public Schools, creating and generating demand for accessible waste reduction systems and structures, educating and engaging the population in community-wide waste reduction, and broadly inspiring and implementing a citywide culture of sustainability. • Community Workshops teach reuse and repair skills to low-income students and community groups, create items the community needs (such as raised garden beds for the Missoula Food Bank), and make home maintenance and renovation accessible for people of all income levels.