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The Great Falls Rescue Mission is seeing more people needing assistance than ever before, but the overflow is impacting other charitable organizations within the community.

Executive Director of the Great Falls Rescue Mission Jim Kizer said he thinks a lot about how they'll make it through the winter.

"We haven't had an empty room in 13 months," Kizer said.
Usually the Rescue Mission sees about half its visitors leave when summer arrives, and fill back up during winter months.

This year, that wasn't the case and the mission has been forced to turn people away.

"It breaks my heart... it breaks my staffs heart," said Kizer.

The rescue mission is turning away at least three families a week, and Kizer estimates it's probably even more.

"If we can't help them, and like it is right now, I can't take another family in. What's going to happen," Kizer said, "is I'm going to refer them to Opportunities Incorporated."

Opportunities Inc. provides assistance for people in need, and they too are seeing an increase.

"For July 1 to December 1 of last year, we say seven households for help with hotel assistance, which is something we don't do very often," said Kim Reynolds with Opportunities Inc. "We've helped over 37 households during the same period this year."

Reynolds said agencies are working as hard as they can to help, but just can't keep up with the demand.

Reynolds said putting families in hotels is not permitted with federal funding, and the organization is using donations, or their "emergency fund," to put in need families up for a night.

"We are really in serious need of a family center that can house families transitionally," said Reynolds.

Kizer said they are working towards bringing a family shelter to Great Falls, a project he has estimated at costing $4 million.

Land has been purchased for a future Rescue Mission Family Shelter, but it wont help the immediate need.

He said hopefully they can break ground in a year.