Samaritan House - Kalispell Homeless Task Force Report Public CommentAlsh AA SAMARITAN
HOUSE
124 9th Ave West
PO Box 592
Kalispell MT 59903
(406) L57-5801
October 26, 2020
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Chris Krager, Executive Director at Samaritan House
Re; Report from Homeless Task farce
Meeting Date: October 26, 2020
First, let me express my congratulations on the establishment of the Task
Force on Homelessness in Kalispell. It is good to have a conversation on
homelessness and shows the consideration of this community. I have
offered my help and any type of assistance to the Homeless Task Force
from its inception. The report from the Homeless Task Force admittedly
has some gaps and continues to state that Samaritan House was not
interviewed. It is my hope that this conversation on homelessness can
indeed be comprehensive. If the report being reviewed today is to be a
document of reference then I am concerned about missing elements,
obvious misconceptions about some service _providers and the report's self-
inflicted discrepancies of data and the result of local collaborative efforts.
For background, I have been the Executive Director of Samaritan House for
the 18 years operating what at times is the second largest homeless shelter
in Montana. I also serve on the Executive Committee or the State of
Montana Continuum of Care for Homelessness. I have helped contract with
Pathways I�/IISI, create the Hd1�r115�-syitem establish Montana'-s and the
Flatheads response to HUD mandates for collaborative efforts. I serve as
the President of the local Collaborative Housing Solutions of Northwest
Montana, formerly Flathead HIRE. I have personally provided outreach
services to unsheltered homeless people locally since 2007. In fact, if there
is an unsheltered homeless person that you see frequently then the odds
are that I know them and have outreached them.
I agree and am aware of the difficultyin accessing and understanding data
on homelessness in Montana. It is evidence of a multilayered and complex
scenario that doesn't easily lend itself to quick references or interpretation
by people not familiar with the study. The Annual Homeless Survey is
completed in January every year. It is not a stretch to say that this survey
w�ru�d show doubteor tripEe theresu#ts i€ it. was eompleted Jn the summer
months. This should be taken into account. Additional it it is my belief that
soon the Annual Homeless Survey will be eliminated in favor of the By
Name List being maintained locally by Community Action Partnership of
Northwest Montana as part of our local Coordinated Entry System.
Data included in the report is taken from media sources making the
numbers second hand'and cross referenced to differing years resulting in
confusion that the writer states makes the information, 'difficult to grasp"
and "troubling". Again, let me offer my assistance in understanding this
complex data. Cassidy Kipp from Community Action Partnership of
Northwest Montana is very adept at interpreting this data as well.
Without numbers from the current By Name List the report has a gap. I
would recommend input from Community Action Partnership of Northwest
Montana in regards to this data. It would show a more accurate, real time
glimpse of who is homeless in our community. It is part of the Coordinated
Entry System.
Today's Report from the Homeless Task Force demonstrates a foundational
lack of understanding of Goal #2 in the expired 5 Year Plan to Address
Homelessness "Finding the Way Home" that goes on to question whether
this goal has been accomplished. I again would like to offer assistance in
helping the Homeless Task Force understand the specific criteria that
defines what a single point of entry in fact is.
I stand by my statements that the lack of affordable housing makes
accessing housing difficult for homeless people in this area. It is specifically
affordable rental housing that is needed to help the population we serve.
Of the approximate 1,50D local homeless people Samaritan House serves
annually most are headed to rental housing..WetYpically see only 1— 3
clients.go from the sbel�r to homy ouvr��rshi.p ea c.h year.
Thank you for the information included in the report titled "Identifying
Gaps/ecommendations"and thank you for having a conversation about
homelessness. It is my hope that the conversation can be a comprehensive
conversation.
Thank yvu,
�S r
Chris Krager, Exec tive Director