Where did all the homeless come from? Public Comment from Flathead Warming CenterAimee Brunckhorst
From: Flathead Warming Center FWC <flatheadwarmingcenter@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2023 1:34 PM
To: Kalispell City Council
Subject: EXTERNAL Where did all the homeless come from?
Hello Kalispell City Council,
I greatly appreciate the Mayor's phone call. I do believe there is a way forward. I believe as we all
come together, we can find a solution that is right for our community.
It was disheartening to learn that the Commissioners did not speak to us, but rather spoke to
another housing service provider and obtained inaccurate information about the Warming Center
and those that we serve. Unfortunately there is politics everywhere. However, this does not
represent the wonderful work that is now happening within the homeless services collaborative
(CHS). Be confident that we have great collaborative work happening right now.
There are several misconceptions about our services as well as the individuals that we serve.
Please let me give a brief recap.
There will always be some homeless who are not from here, more so in the summertime than in
the wintertime. We know this through our collaborative homeless outreach. Many of those whom
we made contact with over the summer, especially in Depot Park, we did not know and most
were not interested, nor participated in Warming Center summer services. Winter is different. We
know most everyone that we make contact with through homeless outreach in the wintertime.
Several can not stay in any shelter because of their behavior. How it works inside the Warming
Center... we are low -barrier, but NOT low standards. A person can come in intoxicated, or under
the influence of anything, and we do not require an ID. A person can come in with their pet. It is a
person'e behavior that determines their stay. We hold individuals accountable for their behavior.
Depending on the infraction of the behavior, a person has to leave for a number of nights based
on our behavior policy. You are welcome to come visit to see how our shelter works. It is a lot of
work, but I believe we provide safe shelter and we are saving lives.
Since our existence, we have worked (with Neighbor's In Need) to purchase bus tickets for
individuals who are not from here. When Neighbors in Need closed their services this past fall,
they made a donation to the Warming Center and we have earmarked their donation to continue
this service. It is important to note that we do NOT simply bus people out of town. Our Resource
Coordinator, Jody, makes phone calls to ensure there are supports, mostly family, on the other
side of the bus ticket. We need you to trust us. We know when to say "No", and we have. I have
examples of individuals who would be considered locals who were taking advantage of our
services and the compassion of our community, throughout our community, and I made the
decision that these individuals can not participate in our services. We have leverage in working
with our guests. Our Occupancy Agreement starts with expectations on being a good neighbor. If
anyone causes an issue in the neighborhood, they cannot stay with us. It bothers me greatly that I
cannot use the leverage that we may have in response to the unacceptable behaviors in the
fairgrounds. They have been unable to give any names. We have tried to investigate with the
descriptions given. We can not be responsible for the horrible behaviors, however we do not turn
a blind eye either and we are always open to collaboration to hold individuals accountable. There
was a history of individuals sleeping in the fairgrounds horse stalls before the Warming Center
existed and without cameras to identify who is causing the current problems it is a challenge for
us to help. It bothers me greatly. A few can ruin it all for everyone. My head knows that I can not
control the poor behaviors in our community, but my heart often forgets that.
I think it is important for you to know that our Resource Coordinator position is a full time
position. Jody works very hard and has seen progress in getting individuals into drug and alcohol
treatment. Jody also works very hard bringing in community resources inside the Warming Center,
such as Job Service, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, counseling, CAP, medical services... etc. By
providing wrap -around services inside the Warming Center, we are facilitating the relationship
and community services needed to link our guests to the tools and resources to move beyond
homelessness. I am a social worker and need you to trust me in this. This is best practice. This is
NOT enabling.
Again, there will always be homeless individuals in our community that are not from here. Again,
this is a small majority, less than 25%. (for more than one reason, this has been a hard number for
us to track) however, I am confident that it is not more and believe that is less. It is important to
know that almost all of those not from here have some connection to the Flathead such as work
or family. We have never heard of anyone being shipped here or a part of a network that has
recommended moving here and we do not know of a single guest that is with us because of our
plush accommodations. We are a last resort in our community.
I strongly believe that we have a severe mental illness issue in our community and I believe the
lack of crisis mental health stabilization resources and especially our lack of involuntary
commitments to psychiatric care is a danger to our community. I worked at Western Montana
Mental Health Center for 10 years. I know several of the individuals whom I speak of. I can testify
that these individuals are from here! I understand that it is easier to believe that these individuals
are not from here, but the large majority are! I can testify that there were days when these
individuals were more stable as they were involved in treatment. I have seen the downward
spiral as services have disappeared, especially the one on one care / case management to help
these individuals navigate life and to stabilize when their symptoms become acute. We do not
have that any more. Services began to disappear when the legislature cut mental health
reimbursement rates for adult mental health case management services. Do you recall my
attempt to get all of our elected officials together to hear from the frontline. this was one of my
attempts to get the ball moving forward to get the help that our community so desperately needs.
Although we did not have a huge turnout that meeting, I have made additional efforts to reach
our legislators and had a handful come to the Warming Center to talk and tour. I am an advocate
for solutions and it pains me to be blamed for what is happening in our community!
It also hurts that we can not care for many of our most ill community members. Psychotic
behavior is not conducive to congregate living. There are several individuals that I have known
through my previous work who are no longer treated and definitely not taking medications to
stabilize. Either they won't come inside because of the symptoms of their illness or they can not
return to the Warming Center because of their behavior. I believe these are the individuals who
are causing issues throughout our community. Many of these individuals are passed around
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between us, first responders, jail, and the ER. This is expensive! Without the help that they need
to be well (to include involuntary commitments), this is what we are seeing played out in our
public spaces and I REFUSE to believe there isn't something that we can do about it! However, it is
much easier to believe that these problems are because of outsiders, our community enabling
individuals, or because we have low -barrier shelter. It is much easier to cast blame rather than
come to the table with solutions because it is unpleasant to know there are neighbors who are
losing limbs right in our backyards.
I take great offense to the Commissioner's letter and to some of the comments you received at
the council meeting. Comparing the homeless to animals and recommending that you ship them
all out of town (the Chair of the Library Board) is appalling to me. This is not a "pull yourself -up by
the bootstraps" kind of problem! We work with the library staff and I can confidently say that the
staff does not feel the same.
I have watched Kalispell City Council deal with hard problems before and I have seen a group of
individuals who want to know what is going on and who respond with compassion. Please be
open to new ideas on how to tackle these painful problems. I am very confident that we can move
forward with solutions!
P.S. I will end by sharing with you: I understand there are those who agree with the
Commissioner's letter. However, I share with you that the Warming Center has been inundated
with support from our community. I still believe we chose our motto correctly, "We take care of
each other in the Flathead."
Thank you for your time!
Tanya Horn
Executive Director
Flathead Warming Center
(406) 250-8652
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