a better future for Kalispell Public Comment from Bradford FenchakAimee Brunckhorst
From: e-mail <ckfeedflathead@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2024 11:41 AM
Subject: EXTERNAL a better future for Kalispell
Dear Kalispell City Council and Mayor Johnson,
Obviously, public speaking is not my forte. I am passionate for a good future for Kalispell. My
child ren,grandchildren and great-grandchildren live here.
My perspective is multifaceted. Many of my family live here. I am a property owner. Family members
run businesses here. I work with poorer residents. I've watched people struggle until they regained
their footing. I've seen too many give up. Friends and family members struggle with addiction and
mental illness. The dearth of mental health services affects all society. I wrote to Gov. Gianforte to no
avail. Maybe he'd listen if more people in public service wrote him. The problems will no disappear no
matter how many strategies you try without addressing the causes. I would love to dialogue with you
seeking solutions.
Assumptions are rife. Homelessness increased due to FWC. If you are carrying a backpack you are
homeless.. If you are homeless you are a worthless drug addict or are from somewhere besides NW
Montana.
Facts matter. Covid caused homelessness, mental health declines and increased drug use.
Unhoused people were in the Covid shelter for a good portion of the pandemic. PIT,Homeless survey
in 2023 showed 56 less homeless individuals in Flathead County. Our economy is increasingly hard
on lower income individuals. Closure of Outlaw Inn and the Blue & White added to the problem. Our
population is aging and on fixed incomes. This leaves too many elderly vulnerable to their homes
being sold out from under them or being priced out of housing. Two people who I personally know
who were homeless came from elsewhere. Both left.
Solutions are scarce.The Flathead Warming Center proactively offers programs to help people
reintegrate into society as a requirement to stay there.
No communities nor Flathead County have moved forward to provide these services when the
Warming Center is not open.
Expectation: People roaming about the West side will disappear if there/s no Warming Center.
Forgotten facts :The Food Bank is in that area. The Welfare Office is in that area. United Way is in
that area. At least one business that hires homeless people in that area. The Fairgrounds is where
people find day work and try to sneak into buildings to sleep. That area is on the way to the Salvation
Army and the ER. People non compliant with Warming Center requirements roam that area to make
trouble for the Warming Center. People are no longer in Depot Park or on Central Christian's porch as
often. Now they are in where they've been driven, for example, West Kalispell. Many people are on
fixed incomes. They're unable to afford housing or to move where they can afford to live. DIL article 6-
6-24 re: United Way helping people get to family and resources on a larger scale than A Ray of Hope
can.
We need to unite to resolve the problems.
• We need support services to help people reintegrate as contributing citizens. People who have
existed in survival mode need help to learn how to navigate everyday life tasks.
• We need more affordable housing to open up.
• We need a detox center open again in Kalispell or even Western Montana.
• We need enough mental health workers to fill the needs for all citizens.
• We need the mental health respite center back for all citizens.
• We need drug treatment programs enough to help people sustain sobriety. Daily Interlake on
5-21-24 highlighted the lack of needed services available.
Sadly there are no easy answers or they would have been implemented already.
Will the hospitality trade thrive with no workers? How will the skilled trades jobs be filled? Will
managers and entrepreneurs thrive with a diminishing pool if workers? There are people who have
these skill sets who are having a hard time climbing out of the hole covid put them in.
We need each other. Citizens, governments, faith communities, non -profits and human service
providers need to coordinate, cooperate and bring positive changes for the well being of all citizens of
Flathead county.
Sincerely, B Bradford Fenchak