Letters to the editor Jan. 26

Cold hearted

I would like to thank the shelter staff, volunteers, clergy, law enforcement officers and mental health and social workers dedicated to addressing the pressing needs of people in our community who are without shelter.

I also condemn the recent letter by the Flathead County Commissioners on the topic of homelessness. While I’ve seen many ignorant things produced by the commissioners, I recall nothing so heartless.

Shortly before Christmas, our temperatures plunged to 30 below zero. People in our community faced the holiday without shelter. Local heroes scrambled in response. They saved lives. Lives the commissioners utterly disregard.

Who are the homeless? They are often families and single parents — who got behind on rent because of a lost job or medical emergencies. Unlike county commissioners, they don’t have a guaranteed income and health benefits.

According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 13% of people who are homeless are veterans — about twice the national average of Americans. Of the estimated 40,000 homeless vets, 50% have disabilities. About 50% suffer mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injuries. “The most effective programs for homeless and at-risk veterans are community-based, nonprofit, veterans-helping-veterans groups,” the agency says.

Exactly the groups disparaged by the Flathead County Commissioners.

To those people seeking solutions — however imperfect — to this complex problem, thank you. Please understand the county commissioners do not speak for us. You are following Christlike teachings about loving our neighbors as ourselves. You inspire us.

No matter how cold a winter night gets in Montana, it is not as cold as the hearts of our county commissioners.

— Ben Long, Kalispell

Seek solutions

We were profoundly disappointed to read the headline “County commissioners blame shelters, homeless network for rise in homelessness.”

It is hard to believe that one of the commissioners could be so callous as to promote the unsubstantiated opinions in their letter, but to see all three commissioners in lock-step was beyond the pale.

Their screed twice refers to a “homeless lifestyle.” Actually, very few people “choose” homelessness as a lifestyle. And the claim that the opening of a low-barrier shelter in Kalispell has increased the number of homeless in the area is absurd. The shelter opened in response to increased homelessness largely attributable to unaffordable housing and evaporating local mental health services. Thank God there are compassionate people willing to help people who have nowhere to go.

In closing, the commissioners state, “We are asking our peers serving on city councils to not permit or expand warming shelters that bring more of these homeless individuals to our community. We believe that hard conversations solve hard problems. We ask members of our community to speak out about their experiences with the homeless”.

In the absence of hard facts, the commissioners are asking the community for anecdotes and, in effect, a call-to-arms. Rather than incite pogroms, the commissioners should solicit solutions.

For those interested, contributions to the Flathead Warming Center can be made directly through their webpage at flatheadwarmingcenter.org.

— Stephen and Kathleen Littfin, Kalispell

Simple truths

I was a little disturbed by the “simple truths” proclaimed by the Flathead County Commissioners concerning the rise in homelessness.

Leaving aside the simple truth that correlation is not causation, how about entertaining the idea that the dramatic increase in rents in the valley may be causing the rise in homelessness?

Nah! Let them eat cake!

— Annora Nelson, Trego

Priorities

So the Flathead County Commissioners sent a joint letter criticizing the provision of shelter and services to a homeless population, which many officials say is not so much an imported problem as much as a Flathead County residents problem.

Yet, the Flathead County Commission and their planning boards and department approve storage-unit project after storage-unit project, carving up our important agricultural land around the county. Really? Does anyone else feel that these positions, priorities, and policies are misguided?

Maybe we should prioritize affordable housing for humans rather than affordable storage shelters for the things of people with more financial means?

— Chuck Stearns, Whitefish