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(406) 427-3953
October 8, 2020
Kalispell City Council
Dear Council Members:
I am writing to encourage your support for the Flathead Warming Centers future location at 889 North
Meridian Rd in Kalispell. As a RN Case Manager at the Flathead Community Health Center I have worked
with referrals to the Warming Center over the last year and strongly believe that Kalispell has great need
for this kind of support for our homeless population. The Warming Center has operated in a residential
neighborhood successfully last winter at the Episcopalian Church and served a large number of people
who otherwise would have no place to go except the police department's lobby during our cold winter
nights. It serves our community by keeping people off the streets and out of the emergency room and
or from freezing to death and as such benefits the entire community. Our community has long wished
for a permanent location for this kind of shelter and they have proven they can be a good neighbor to
those around them.
The approval of a Conditional Use Permit for this particular location seems most appropriate because it
is predominantly a commercial area and should provide good access and adequate parking for the
population using it as well as the volunteers and staff who manage it. The role that the warming shelter
plays in helping the homeless and impoverished, although temporary is essential due to the very limited
amount of longer-term shelter space in our community and because the Warming Center aims to be the
only low barrier shelter and is as such for some the last place to go. As someone who has worked in
case management for over eight years I can attest to how important it is to have a place for people to go
when they have no place left to go in the dead of winter. The Warming Center also plays a role to
improve the lives of these people and help them get connected to other resources so they can help
themselves out of homelessness!
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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N talie Cooney
n alov@flathead.mt.gov