Abell fails to understand complexity of homelessness

Commissioner Abell’s Aug. 20 opinion piece (Homeless are taking advantage of Flathead Valley’s generosity) shows he has learned little since January.

In the Montana Life section of the Aug. 20 Daily Inter Lake, Commissioner Abell’s opinion piece states, “If we truly want to end homelessness in our community, we must attack it at its root cause, which is a lack of purpose in the lives of those in this community. A lack of understanding of the benefits and rewards of giving back to the community.” Commissioner Abell then goes on to say that this lack of purpose is the major reason why our community experiences drug and alcohol abuse, violent crimes and a mental health crisis.

From the frontlines at the Warming Center where we engage daily with members of the Flathead’s homeless population, we see firsthand that many homeless individuals in our community suffer from far greater illness than simply lacking purpose in one’s life. And we have data to prove it. This past winter, 292 individuals inside the Flathead Warming Center (that’s 82% of those we served) suffered from a disabling condition.

Interestingly enough, on the backside of the same Montana Life section is an advertisement for our local National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI Flathead) Family-to-Family. This is an educational program of families who have a loved one with Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression), Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Panic Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Co-occurring Brain and Addictive Disorder.

NAMI families and those of us at the Warming Center can attest that no amount of time in a 4-H Club could possibly address such severe and disabling conditions as Commissioner Abell would like us to believe. These conditions necessitate comprehensive medical attention, therapy, and often medication strategies. Sadly, our current resources in our Valley are inadequate to meet the vast spectrum of needs present by mental health disorders. It is insulting to hear from one of our leaders that these families only needed to take their loved one to 4-H Club to learn purpose in life.

Following the Commissioners’ first letter in January, the Flathead Warming Center’s Board of Directors responded in an attempt to educate the Commissioners on the diverse and complex issues in our community that have resulted in an increase in homelessness. The article included hard facts and statistics from our work with the unhoused population. Many other organizations and individuals in the community have also spoken up to provide further fact-based education on homelessness.

Unfortunately, it appears the Commissioner has not listened to - or learned from - the actual data, and instead continues to communicate his own unfounded theories as though they are fact. His most recent opinion piece is once again full of assumptions and generalizations, delivered with limited accountability, to suit a political narrative. His letter contains no data whatsoever to back up his claims that a lack of purpose has caused our community’s most challenging problems and enrolling kids in sports and 4-H will solve them all.

We urge the Commissioner to stop grouping everyone who is unsheltered together and labeling this group without any genuine attempts to understand the difficult and complex issues that the homeless community experiences. We implore him to stop implying that those struggling in our community must have a character flaw, only needing to find purpose in one’s life. This is a hurtful narrative that furthers the stigma of mental illness in our community. We invite him to listen to — and learn from — what is actually happening.

Our community needs to expect more from our leaders and we invite them to work hand-in-hand with the Flathead Warming Center, Collaborative Housing Solutions of NW MT, and the dozens of other organizations who are genuinely focused on addressing homelessness and mental health issues. Please don’t condemn the efforts of those who are trying to make a difference. Please get behind the organizations doing the work.

Violence, criminal activity, and disruptive behaviors are things that we all agree are not acceptable in our community. If we work together, we can protect the community we cherish and help those who need mental health, addiction and shelter support. When we work together, we can take care of each other in the Flathead.

Tonya Horn is executive director of the Flathead Warming Center.