Community leaders look to address increase in homelessness

Finding ways to fill in the gaps in services for individuals experiencing homelessness and increasing community involvement in the effort are among the goals of a conglomerate of local service providers looking to address homelessness in the Flathead Valley.

“There’s not one organization and not one entity that can make an impact that the whole community can’t make together,” said Tonya Horn, executive director of the Flathead Warming Center. “We have a caring community that will come together.”

Community leaders and business representatives gathered last week for a conversation about homelessness hosted by the Collaborative Housing Solutions of Northwest Montana. About 50 people attended the event at the Flathead Warming Center.

Kyle Waterman, who serves on the board of the Samaritan House, says he’d like to see a proactive approach to dealing with homelessness now. Serving as the facilitator for the gathering, he emphasized a desire of the Collaborative Housing Solutions of Northwest Montana to foster increased community collaboration in efforts to address homelessness as it works toward short-term and long-term solutions.

“When we see an extreme winter weather event coming in February there’s always an outcry, but we’d like to have those conversations now and share plans for how to address this,” he said.

Collaborative Housing Solutions of Northwest Montana is made up of key service providers including the Flathead Warming Center, Samaritan House, Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana, Abbie Shelter, North West Montana Veterans Food Pantry and Ray of Hope.

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Kalispell is now the second highest in the state, coming in slightly behind Missoula, according to the Montana Homeless Point-In-Time count provided annually by the Montana Continuum of Care Coalition.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development every two years requires that all communities receiving federal funding for homelessness services conduct a count of people experiencing homelessness. The count is the primary source of nationwide data on homelessness.

The 2022 count taken in January shows there are 319 homeless individuals in Kalispell and the Flathead, while 325 homeless individuals were living in Missoula. The survey reported 281 individuals experiencing homelessness in Billings and 184 in Bozeman. The count found a total of 1,585 homeless individuals living in Montana, meaning that the Flathead and Missoula each account for 20% of the state’s homeless population.

Of the individuals in Kalispell, the count found 171 were living in emergency shelters, 54 were in transitional housing and 94 were unsheltered.

Service providers at the meeting noted that the number of people experiencing homelessness for at least a year or repeatedly, known as chronic homelessness, in the Flathead has quadrupled since 2020.

The housing solutions group has created a set of goals aimed at addressing homelessness in the Flathead through increasing emergency shelter space, improving communication with the community while increasing public awareness regarding homelessness, increasing permanent housing opportunities and creating a crisis response team that could assist homeless individuals. It’s part of efforts on a 10-year plan to end homelessness in the Flathead.

DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES this summer reported a rise in homelessness.

Lorraine Clarno, president and CEO of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, which has its office located downtown at Depot Park, told Kalispell City Council in September that the organization is considering relocating. Staff and visitors have reported feeling unsafe in its current location, she said.

“This summer, we’ve seen a dramatic change in the folks that are using the park and the Parkline green space north of the building,” she said. “They are assertive, they are aggressive, and their behavior demonstrates to me an increase in addiction and mental health issues. It is truly sad and a community issue we have to get in front of.”

This year the Kalispell Police Department has seen an increase in calls related to homelessness. Capt. Jordan Venezio says officers are put in a difficult position of receiving phone calls from businesses and homeowners regarding homeless individuals.

“Police do not solve these problems,” he said. “We are unable to do so. We stabilize the best we can, but the pressure put on the police with the hope that it fixes it, is not going to happen.”

Most calls regarding homeless individuals revolve around trespassing and loitering. But Venezio says that violent crimes can arise if steps aren’t taken by the community to intervene.

“What we’re seeing right now in the community is a perfect storm of a lack of resources, a lack of jail space and a burdened criminal justice system, and no resources for mental health and other resources that will actually stabilize long-term,” he said. “We want to be partners in this and help out where we can, but we cannot be the focus of a solution.”

Horn, the Flathead Warming Center’s executive director, said that some of the challenges faced by the community can be resolved by filling gaps in services, noting that it’s not a policing issue.

“I come from a standpoint that when we take care of people’s basic needs, when we bring people inside to warmth, safety and structure, we are all safer and we are all stronger,” she said. “We can only do that when we all come together.”

Some expressed a desire to assist individuals they may come across in the community but noted they are often unsure of where to turn.

Linda Erickson of the North West Montana Veterans Pantry says the pantry provides information at its location regarding services that are available to assist homeless individuals.

“We do look to refer them to other services,” she said. “But having the right people to call when we have someone come in who is in crisis is important. That is an important part of the puzzle for how we get them assistance.”

Scott Thompson, pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in downtown Kalispell, said he’s glad to see a desire for increasing services and also awareness so community members know who to call to connect those in-need with services.

“I don’t know where to start when someone comes to the church and says they need help,” he said. “Sometimes it’s that people don’t have a place to stay for that night. We need a clear path for who to contact.”

CHIEF AMONG the goals is creating a crisis response system that could serve to fill the gap in services the Collaborative Housing Solutions of Northwest Montana says exists currently. The Montana 2-1-1 hotline connects callers to services that can aid in homelessness, but providers say awareness of the number needs to be increased.

Another gap exists in connecting a person experiencing homelessness with resources. Beds are routinely full at shelters like the Warming Center and Samaritan House. Additionally, individuals often need other services to address mental, behavioral and physical health concerns.

The Warming Center, which also provides access to showers, laundry and food during the summer, turned away people 186 times last winter because they were at capacity. The Samaritan House, a low-barrier homeless shelter and transitional living program, houses about 100 people every night.

Providers envision a mobile crisis team that could respond, rather than law enforcement, by providing nonemergency care such as water and first aid, and acting as an initial point of contact for further resources.

“This does not have to be a policing issue,” Horn said. “We’d like to have people be able to call and reach someone that can provide homeless outreach, providing that triage and forming a relationship with the individual.”

Providing crisis facilities that can handle further needs and keep individuals out of jail is also a step in addressing the gaps, providers noted.

“We need a place where we can take people that’s not in jail,” Horn said. “We need to fill the gaps in services. It’s going to take the community to make that dream come true.”

Assisting with medical needs is an important part of addressing homelessness, as the count shows that 47% of homeless individuals are disabled.

“That means they have a disabling condition that they have to overcome besides homelessness,” said Sean O’Neill of Community Action Partnership. “This is a group of individuals that are trying, but they have to overcome some challenges on top of being homeless. What is an uphill battle then becomes a mountain to climb.”

Goals also include increasing emergency shelter space and the number of beds available to accommodate people experiencing homelessness. In addition, the group would like to increase affordable and permanent housing opportunities for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Increasing public awareness and increasing efficient coordination between social service providers with an emphasis on coordinated points of entry and preventative measures is also on the list.

Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.