The Flathead Warming Center from Robert SherrickJudi Funk
From: Robert Sherrick <drbobsh@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2024 12:11 PM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL The Flathead Warming Center
The 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
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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.
Res pectfu I ly,
Julie Sherrick
Volunteer since 2018 at the Flathead Warming Center
Home address: 628 4th Ave. E. Kalispell, MT 59901
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