community inquiries Public Comment from Sabine MorganAimee Brunckhorst
From: Sabine Morgan <sabineamorgan@fvcc.edu>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2022 3:49 PM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL community inquiries
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
Good afternoon,
My name is Sabine Morgan and I am a social work student at FVCC.
As a lifelong community member, it is very obvious to me how much our homeless population has skyrocketed over the
last five to ten years. Having grown up in the valley, I recognize that mental health is not typically a standpoint that is
spoken about, let alone dealt with appropriately. Thus, the population of drug users has also skyrocketed. I am sure you
are aware that those two factors coincide with one another, as well as taking into account that poverty largely has
something to do with both drug abuse and homelessness.
My wonder about all of these topics is why we do not have more resources for said population? I do understand that
funding is an issue, and I also understand that many taxpayers around here would prefer their money to be used in ways
that would suit them, rather than it being used to benefit others, especially when you take into account how self
centered individuals inherently are.
From my understanding, we have a few places around here where people can detox, one being Logan Health Behavioral
Center (formerly known as Pathways). However, the intake treatment timeline for an adult within that facility does not
take into account how long it actually takes to detox successfully from drugs, therefore individuals are more likely to
relapse. This is just an example, as I am unfamiliar with other facilities timelines as well as insurance timelines, since
treatment is unfortunately very expensive.
I am not necessarily looking for an easy answer on this, as there really is none, but I just wanted to hear from a council
standpoint why we do not have enough resources for a population of people who are ever growing.
If I am reaching out to the wrong people, I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction, as I really am curious
for a response. I feel as though communicating about these issues are very important, and are a community
responsibility.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response.
Sabine Morgan