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Warming Center CUP Public Comment from Kaela MetcalfeTo my city council members: My name is Kaela Metcalfe and I’m writing in regards to the Flathead Warming Center conditional use permit. I work for a program called PATH, which stands for Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness. In my role I provide direct services to people who have a serious mental illness, and are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. This often includes visiting the Warming Center or finding people on the street. I would like to share a little bit about my experience working among this community of people. Recently I was at the Warming Center working with a client on housing applications. This particular client, like many of my clients, has experienced severe trauma. As you may know, trauma can affect a person’s behavior, beliefs and relationships. When I was working with this client I could see the tension in her face, the fear of the unknown taking over. Being homeless is stressful, especially when you have experienced trauma, and homelessness in itself is traumatic. As we sat there working on housing applications, though, I could see the tension on her face begin to melt. One of the staff members had put on some oldies and her friends at the table next to her were enjoying the meal provided. By the time I got up to leave she was dancing, snapping her fingers to an Otis Redding song. It was at that moment that I realized that the Warming Center is so much more than shelter. It’s a place for people to exhale, when they have been holding their breath for so long. It’s a place for people to begin to feel human again, to dance, to learn, to eat, to begin to trust the world once more when the world has done nothing but fail them. These are all needed to do the work. I tell this story to urge you to consider the implications of revoking the Flathead Warming Center’s CUP. You would not only be taking a way a shelter, but a place for people to begin to rebuild their lives, a community. What I think many people don’t realize is that building relationships is foundational in being an effective service provider, especially among this community. It is hard to think about filling out housing applications, or accessing mental health services when you haven’t even had a decent night’s sleep or a nutritious meal. The process of getting out of homelessness is much more complex than one may realize, and it certainly doesn’t help to live in an area with a shortage of affordable housing options. Navigating this complex process requires a foundation of trust between the provider and the client. A warm, caring community is the perfect place to build that trust. I don’t have the answers, and I’m certainly not an expert on ending homelessness. However, I was fortunate enough to hear from an actual expert recently. Dr. Sam Tsemberis developed the Housing First model, a model that advocates for housing as a basic human right. Housing is what helps people recover from mental health issues and substance use disorders, not the other way around. This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s really not. On Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, “shelter” sits at the bottom. It’s foundational. So, if you want to solve the homelessness issue in our community, I encourage you to support social service providers who provide housing navigation services and housing stability services and to encourage the development of affordable housing. This includes maintaining one of the few entrances we have into the homeless community, the Flathead Warming Center. I know we signed up for this job, but I truly believe that it’s the entire community’s responsibility to help the most vulnerable people. That starts with you, city council members. I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but I do want to address a few things that were brought up at the most recent work session around this topic. The first is the direct impact the Warming Center has on the community. I don’t want to minimize the problems the neighbors have spoken about. These are real legitimate concerns. However, I think a major voice has been left out of this conversation and that is the voice of the residents at the Flathead Warming Center. To consider other voices over theirs is to put value on one type of person over another. I can understand why residents would not be comfortable attending the city council meetings considering the hostility in the community. Frankly, it is also hard to consider such matters when you are trying to make sure your most basic needs are met. I encourage you, city council members, to meet them where they are at. My boss and I would be happy to facilitate a visit to the Warming Center during open hours. The other topic I would like to address is the idea of “the right neighborhood” and the low- barrier model. If the Meridian area isn’t the right neighborhood, where is? You cannot rid the community of homelessness by removing resources. In fact, that is likely to do just the opposite. This is not to say that action shouldn’t be taken to address the neighborhood concerns. It is simply to say that there will be neighbors anywhere. It everyone’s responsibility to address this issue. That is what a community does, we help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. Although I don’t have the answers, I do know that changing the shelter from a low-barrier model is not the answer. The low-barrier model allows those who are at their lowest points a chance to change their lives around. At the PATH program we frequently work with the people who most need the low-barrier model, and we are often amazed to see how people can grow when given a second chance. That being said, greater support along with a low-barrier shelter is needed. Substance use treatment, in particular, is a much needed resource in this community. Thank you for your time and consideration, Kaela Metcalfe PATH program at Western Montana Mental Health Center University of Montana MSW Student Flathead Valley native *The views expressed in this letter do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SAMHSA, our grant provider, or Western Montana Mental Health Center, our host agency.