Fwd: Cleaning up after homeless from Warming Center Aimee Brunckhorst
From: Flathead Warming Center FWC <flatheadwarmingcenter@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 3:49 PM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL Fwd: Cleaning up after homeless
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Council,
I appreciate the fact that you all understand, more than most, that you cannot make everyone happy, no
matter how hard you try.
I responded to Mr.Andrachick in good faith, expecting to have a profitable dialogue and he ended the
conversation with gaslighting and a personal insult against me. It appears that he solely wants to see
what he already believes. (The shelter is horrible. It is all our fault.We should clean his property.And I am
a bad person.)What he can not see is that we care and we do want things to be better. I assure you, I can
not solve all issues, but the disgust is not lost on me. I do care and we do have plans to do more of what
we can.We just can't drop all that we are working on to go pick up an abandoned recliner and trash that
may or may not have been left by anyone that we know. At this time, the Warming Center will not
respond again to MrAndrachick.
We have not received many complaints (under a handful) .We are kind when we respond and we keep
a record of every contact and response. The complaints we do receive are pretty punitive and
discouraging. This complaint at least provided pictures and some detail of a situation.
Another complaint was from a homeowner located behind the Inter Lake. The others were disparaging
opinions based on misconception.
We continue to exclude individuals who cause issues, but we must be able to identify who.
It is illogical to blame the Warming Center for all things homeless. It is wrong to try to shame us into
accepting responsibility or the blame for the very thing we are working so hard to mitigate.
I do have some good news in all of this.
We continue to give several community tours, none, as of yet, for those who have complained. However,
we continue to have good community support.And I do not want to miss mentioning the productive
dialogue we have with KPD.We are thankful for this! There are situations that we have also been helpful
to KPD. Our guest Care Team walks are going well. Some of our guests want to pick up trash all over
during the daytime.We are happy to provide large trash bags.We are trying to figure out a process to get
the full bags either to the dump or to our dumpsters when the full bags are too heavy for our guests to get
back to the Warming Center.We are also hopeful to organize another large clean up, simular to the one
we did a couple of years ago.
We have several additional initiatives in the works that we look forward to sharing with you this summer.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Tonya Horn
Executive Director
Flathead Warming Center
(406) 250-8652
I
WA IIR III°",01il II1 N G
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Sean Andrachick<ssttholdings()gmail.com>
Date: Tue,Apr 15, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Subject: Re: Cleaning up after homeless
To: <flatheadwarmingcenter gmail.com>
Cc: <publiccomment()kalispell.com>
Mrs Horn,
This is the reason the community wanted your shelter shut down. For you to try to gaslight me and the
community sayingyou have no responsibility for the people you attract and because we haven't proven
the shelter did anything to increase homelessness around your shelter is offensive.You do not take
responsibility for your shelters actions.You feel no responsibility to your neighbors for the actions your
shelter has thrust upon the surrounding neighborhood.You come with excuses.You didn't create the
homeless but you attract them.Writing paragraphs of words about how your shelter holds no
responsibility shows how little empathyyou hold for your neighbors.You are not a good person. Nor is
the efforts of the shelter nobel if it intrudes on one at the expense of another.After watching what the
shelter has done over the last couple years I know you would not take responsibility not even to offer to
help clean up what you have attracted. Bottom line if not for your shelters we would not have half the
issues this community has to deal with.And you know this to be true although you would never admit out
loud.And then to say if we start cleaning up after our vagrants then we will have to go all over town and
clean up.Well for 1.Yes you would that's showing good faith to this town.And to say if we clean up on
your place that would set a bad precedent, again another example of you not holding up your community
responsibilities. I'm not just anywhere in town I can see your shelter from my lot!!. I've seen how you
have treated your neighbors and did not have high expectations of you owning this issue. I will clean up
after the people you have brought to the neighborhood.After I gather up all the clothes you give away
would you like them back? I just wanted to say my peice and submit to public record. Suggestion, if you
worked with your neighbors instead blowing them off you would create some goodwill the shelter could
probably use some.
Sent from my Phone
2
On Apr 14, 2025, at 8:20 PM, Flathead Warming Center FWC
<flatheadwarmingcenter gmail.com>wrote:
Mr.Andrachick,
I am empathetic to the negative impact homeless persons have had on your property. I
also believe you that those impacts have increased since Covid, as they have all across
our community, our state and our nation.We purchased the property on Meridian during
Covid. I know first hand how much worse homelessness has gotten in the last five years,
because I've been on the front lines of homelessness in the Flathead for many years.You
do not have to convince me that it's gotten worse. Negative impacts have increased, on the
other side of town, as well. Unfortunately,you observe a correlation between our opening
on Meridian and more homeless people on your property. Believe me when I say this,
correlation is not causation. The Flathead Warming Center does not make people
homeless, and the Flathead Warming Center(despite all the rumors you may have heard
about us) does not recruit homeless people to come to Kalispell.At any given time, there
may be 200-300 homeless persons in our community.And the Warming Center can only
shelter 45-50 of them.What this means is that, in rough numbers, four out of five homeless
people you see are not guests of the Warming Center. Furthermore, the Flathead Warming
Center did not make anyone homeless. The Flathead Warming Center does not cause
mental illness or addiction or personality disorders or any of the other pathologies that
may lead people into homelessness.We are not to blame. If we closed tomorrow,you
would see more impacts on your property, not less.
This is a very difficult situation for me because I work hard and I take criticism very
personally and I want to fix it right now. Unfortunately, neither I, nor the Flathead Warming
Center can, or will, accept responsibility for all things homeless in Kalispell.As an
oncologist treats cancer, so we treat homelessness.We don't cause it, nor can we cure it
all, but we are able to mitigate its effects.With regards to trash pickup; as a measure of
good faith, we said that we would do routine trash pickup within a quarter mile of the
center on a routine basis.When we do that, we pick up all the trash we see, regardless of
who dropped it. My concern in coming to attend to your property is, where do we draw the
line? I cannot set a precedent that we will pick up garbage anywhere in town if someone
believes the mess is homeless related.We cannot police nor control adult behavior off of
our property. However, when we learn by name that a Warming Center guest has caused a
problem, that guest is excluded from our services.We are in contact with law enforcement
to mitigate such situations.
I can understand that my response likely feels dismissive to you and we may be deemed a
poor neighbor. This is simply not the case.We care greatly. It would be meaningful to us if
you would consider coming in for a brief tour. More opportunities to work together present
themselves when those with concern come in to visit.
Thank you for letting us know and for sharing pictures.We will use this opportunity as
another time to discuss with our guests how such behaviors are unacceptable.
Sincerely,
3
Tonya Horn
Executive Director
Flathead Warming Center
(406) 250-8652
i
W�A IIR 1�,„,01 III N G
On Mon,Apr 14, 2025 at 2:02 PM Sean Andrachick<ssttholdings()gmail.com>wrote:
My property is 1000 W Idaho.We had not had any issues with trash, graffiti, people openly
doing intravenous drugs, defecating, breaking into the buildings until your shelter opened
up. I have pictures and videos of all things I described.The building was vacant foryears
and never had an issue.As the director of the shelter you know your impact on the
surrounding neighborhood and how it relates to the shelter. If not please review previous
email of the pictures. I had to tear down the building so I would not have to put up with
this.When I talk to the people doing these things they all tell me the same thing. The
shelter was full or you would not let them in. So the shelter is why they end up on my
place.Anyways I should not have to litigate my case to you. I believe you know you are the
reason we are dealing with this. If you are a good neighbor you will do what you believe is
right.
Sean Andrachick
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Sent from my iPhone
On Apr 14, 2025, at 12:48 PM, Flathead Warming Center FWC
<flatheadwarmingcenter gmail.com>wrote:
Mr.Andrachick,
Thankyou for reaching out and for sharing pictures.We want to do the right
thing.We need more information from you.
Where are you located?
We are sorry this has happened to you and your property.We need to
understand if this is a Warming Center Guest issue.We need to best
understand how this relates to the Warming Center?We do not condone
this kind of behavior and will do what we can to help.
Please confirm the location.
Sincerely,
Tonya Horn
Executive Director
Flathead Warming Center
5
(406) 250-8652
i
WA IIR III'°",01 III N G
On Mon,Apr 14, 2025 at 10:07 AM Sean Andrachick
<ssttholdings()gmail.com>wrote:
I own a large commercial property within eyesight of your shelter. Ever
since you have opened up we have had to spend capital to alleviate the
damage that has been done to our property. I see that according to some
kind of settlement you are supposed to be receptive to cleaning up after
your customers.With your volunteers should be more than happy to
cleanup what you have attracted to my town.And to take the unsolicited
burden you have put upon us, and embrace all the responsibility of your
shelter. I did not ask for this and it is costing me because I have to deal with
this constantly. I constantly have to remove waste, trash,junk, and
homeless themselves from the property. I had an individual two days ago I
had to move along because he was sleeping on the property in his pickup
because he said he was kick out of the shelter. Well there is no restroom
facilities on the property so where are they releasing themselves? On my
property! I'm asking that with your volunteers to come and cleanup after
your customers.
Sent from my Phone
6