Homeless at Depot and Woodland Parks Public Comment from Collaborative Housing SolutionsAimee Brunckhorst
From: Sean O'Neill <soneill@capnwmt.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2023 9:56 AM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL Public Comment: Homeless at Depot and Woodland Parks
Attachments: CHS_Depot Park -letter to Flathead Citizens.pdf
Importance: High
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Hello City of Kalispell,
Here is a letter I am submitting on behalf of Collaborative Housing Solutions of Northwest Montana for 'Public
Comment' at the City Council work session on January 23rd, 2023.
Thank you,
Sean Patrick O'Neill (he/him/his)
Collaborative Housing Solutions of NW Montana —Chair
Community Services Department Director
Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana
214 Main Street, Kalispell, MT 59901
PO Box 88, Kalispell, MT 59903
Ph:(406)758-5445
F: (406)752-6582
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January 20, 2023
Dear Flathead County Residents,
Homelessness is an issue that is affecting local families, seniors, and individuals with severely disabling
conditions who have faced a crisis of medical emergencies, being priced out of rentals, and not being
able to access the very limited resources available to them. As the local Continuum of Care to end
homelessness, a collaborative of local agencies, businesses and community members that are working
to help these neighbors, we too are concerned about the recent rise in the issues around Kalispell's
Depot Park. We agree that it is important to ask these neighbors to be accountable and we also believe
it is critical that we work together to find solutions.
We believe the issues at Depot and Woodland Park are isolated to a smaller group of unhoused
neighbors and we think that it is important for the community to not stigmatize all homeless individuals
as being the cause of these problems. Beyond this population, we are actively assisting clients who are
working to address their addictions, fiscal challenges, and emergencies via our shelters, services and
programs. Our data clearly shows a vast majority of the population struggling with housing and
homelessness are mostly local or Montanans from our neighboring communities.
As we approach the Kalispell City Council work session on Monday, January 23 we are going to be
emphasizing that this is our community's responsibility to find local solutions to these issues in a joint
effort. We know through our conversations and work that many Flathead citizens are concerned and we
want to work together to address the crisis. We are dealing with the consequences of long-standing
problems that have been exacerbated by the last couple of hard years and our community's rapid
growth.
We feel strongly that if we do not find ways to come together as a community to address these issues
then they will only continue to grow. We agree that enabling is not the right path for those in need, or
for our community, and we would encourage anyone critical of our programs to see that we are working
towards finding solutions to these challenging problems. We would be happy to talk and debate these
solutions, but we would encourage a healthy, constructive conversation rather than simply blaming the
existing services or those affected by homelessness.
Winter is a serious health event in Montana. We are disheartened to see our fellow human beings
suffering and we encourage work to find compassionate solutions. We invite all who support our work
to join us in finding solutions to improve our local resources, housing, and treatment opportunities. We
are working to find community -based supportive services for those with mental health and substance
abuse struggles. Most importantly we are working to make sure that our neighbors don't die on the
streets of Kalispell. We invite you to join us in working on this solution, and not spend valuable time and
energy blaming those in need for creating the social and economic problems they are facing.
Sincerely,
Executive Board of Collaborative Housing Solutions of NW Montana
Sean Patrick O'Neill (CHS—Chair; Community Action Partnership)
Morgan Winchester (CHS—Co-Chair; Samaritan House)
Casey Driscoll (CHS—Secretary; School District 5/Heart Locker)
Tonya Horn (CHS—Executive Committee; Flathead Warming Center)
Cinnamon Davis (CHS—Executive Committee; Veteran's Food Pantry)