The Flathead Warming Center Public Comment from Robert SherrickThe Flathead Warming Center serves an essential need for safe shelter for those living without homes during the coldest months of the year. Tonya Horn, the Executive Director of the
Warming Center, has responded to the many misconceptions regarding the impact of the Warming Center our community, and particularly, that the Warming Center has caused an increase in
homelessness and crime and that the services it provides simply enable and encourage these behaviors. Her detailed rebuttal at the Kalispell City Work Session on May 13 deserves close
attention and her recommendation for collaboration among city officials, service organizations, concerned neighbors, along with the perspectives of those living without homes must be
the next step for coming up with solutions that will best serve our community. Closing the Warming Center, pretending that it has caused all of the problems with homelessness in our
community, and washing our hands of the issue because it is too difficult to tackle is most certainly not the solution.
The situation of homelessness is extremely complex, involving many stakeholders, service providers and issues such as the availability of affordable housing, wage levels in the community,
mental health and substance use disorder treatment services, services for people with severe disabilities, domestic violence situations, law enforcement resources, services for the
elderly poor - the list is long and all contribute to the overall problem of homelessness. Community leadership requires a disciplined, evidence-based, rigorous collaborative attention
to gathering facts, and to considering and testing solutions in all of these areas impacting homelessness in our community. This approach has the best chance of providing solutions
that will serve us all - those who have the misfortune of living without homes (those of us who have volunteered at the Flathead Warming Center and who have gotten to know many of their
guests understand that "misfortune" of the sort that could strike any one of us is overwhelmingly the reason for homelessness, rather than a "lifestyle choice"), along with those of
us who are more "fortunate" but are still affected in various ways by the difficulties that homelessness presents to our community.
Seeing people who are suffering and not knowing how to respond is challenging and painful. When those people are disruptive to us and to others in our community, anger and fear are
natural and understandable responses. Yet as leaders, we need to take a step back, work to understand the issues involved, collaborate with other stakeholders towards developing a
plan that will address the concerns and needs of the entire community.
The Warming Center is a part of the solution to homelessness in our community - it is not the problem. Without the Warming Center, people would freeze on our streets in the winter months.
People who have been helped towards treatment for mental health and substance use disorder issues, or supported in their search for jobs and housing would no longer have that advocacy
working for them. I strongly believe that retracting the Flathead Warming Center's Conditional Use Permit would be profoundly irresponsible, harmful and disruptive to our community.
Respectfully,
Julie Sherrick
Volunteer since 2018 at the Flathead Warming Center
Home address: 628 4th Ave. E. Kalispell, MT 59901