It’s time to end the war on poverty in the Flathead Valley

There has been much discussion and debate on the topic of homelessness in the Flathead Valley. I would like to make two comments on this topic. First, this problem will continue to worsen unless we provide a solution that includes assisted living. And second, we have a civic and moral obligation to care for the desperately poor people who live among us.

First of all, you should know that this viewpoint comes from someone who was born and raised in Kalispell. I have worked in the Kalispell Public Defender’s office for the past 18 years and joined the board of the Flathead Warming Center about a year ago. To be clear, I am writing in my personal capacity as a concerned citizen. I do not claim to represent the views of any organization or agency.

At both the city and county levels, residents have witnessed local officials declaring war on the poor in the Flathead Valley. This trend began in early 2023 with a widely publicized letter from our county commissioners urging residents to “unite in rejecting anything that promotes the homeless lifestyle.” The letter ended with a rallying cry to join the commissioners in showing the poor and needy among us that “enough is enough.”

And that’s what we did.

In the months that followed, the hunt for the poor and needy in our valley was on. They were hunted with paint and shotguns and stones. They were run over by cars. They were violently attacked. A homeless man was brutally murdered. Despite the unprecedented violence, the commissioners never retracted their letter.

Instead, commissioners have upped the ante by driving the poor and needy off public transportation. After four years of offering the Warming Center’s homeless guests free transportation through the Mountain Climber bus system, commissioners changed the policy just before the Warming Center opened for the 2023-2024 winter season. The new policy limited access to people with a bank account or credit card and a smartphone with the required app.

Because the vast majority of homeless people don’t have a bank account or credit card, they were barred from public transportation. However, the Flathead Warming Center stepped in and paid for over 3,000 rides for homeless people last winter season. Commissioners solved this problem by changing their policy again – this time by strictly prohibiting the Warming Center from paying for transportation to or from the shelter. As it stands now, it’s no money, no app, no bank account, no transportation. Period.

Apparently inspired by the commissioners’ war on the poor, the Kalispell City Council recently followed suit and threatened to close the Warming Center, the last remaining shelter for the homeless in our community. This act of hostility led to a public hearing on May 13, touting both for and against the Warming Center. A second hearing on the issue was held on May 28. Now, at hearings scheduled for the week of July 15, the Kalispell City Council is on the verge of getting rid of the Warming Center once and for all by revoking its conditional use permit.

And why is the city council willing to take this unprecedented – and I would say illegal – measure? Well, as it turns out, even more homeless people are apparently gathering around the Warming Center. Who would have thought?

That being said, any business-minded person should be appalled at the City Council’s behavior in this regard. If the City Council follows through on its threat and closes the Warming Center, then any business that exists with a conditional building permit will be at risk of being shut down if a few like-minded citizens lodge their complaints with the City.

So if you’ve invested a few million dollars in opening a bar or restaurant in Kalispell, be careful. All your competitors have to do is file a few complaints and you and your investment will be brushed aside like yesterday’s newspaper. After all, who would have thought that a new bar in town would lead to more drunken and disorderly people congregating in the area?

By the city’s logic, no place is safe. For example, have you noticed how many criminals have been congregating at the county jail lately? Worse, this dangerous element is being released through the back door on a daily basis to wreak havoc in our unsuspecting community. This is simply unacceptable. Where are you, oh mighty city council, to right this wrong? Use your infinite wisdom to revoke the jail’s conditional use permit and rid our community of crime. It’s that simple, right?

I digress – back to the actual topic.

Dealing with the poor and homeless is complex, but there are models to meaningfully address this problem. One such model – which includes assisted living – was proposed by Brent Rodgers immediately after the public hearing on May 13. Mr. Rodgers wrote an email to the council about the possibility of working together to initiate such a program in this area.

And to our esteemed officials on the City Council, I would suggest that rather than making the Warming Center a scapegoat for the difficulties inherent in caring for poor – and often mentally ill – homeless people in our community, your time would be better spent talking to Mr. Rodgers and others like him.

Let us now turn to the larger question of our civic and moral obligation to the poor who live among us. As to the former, Thomas Jefferson, after helping to found this great nation and serving two terms as its third president, made this statement on the eve of his retirement: “The concern for human life and happiness, and not for their destruction, is the first and only legitimate ends of good government.”

Ironically, this is a good description of the Warming Center’s mission. To my dear colleagues on the Council: This should be your mission too. I implore you – work with the Warming Center – do not destroy it.

As for our moral obligation, I appeal to the Author of morality – God. After all, Kalispell is home to some of the largest churches in the state and a significant number of the council’s members are Bible-believers – and make no mistake, the Bible has a lot to say on the subject.

As God said in the opening pages of His discourse to mankind, “There shall never cease to be a poor person in the land. Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand widely to your brother, to your poor and needy in your land.'” Deuteronomy 15:11.

And further in Proverbs 28:27: “He who gives to the poor will not lack, but he who turns a blind eye to them will be cursed with many.”

And in the New Testament, the apostle John said, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart against him, how can the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and truth.” 1 John 3:17-18.

There is no doubt that compassion for the poor is at the heart of God. Likewise, every good and moral leader should be characterized by genuine concern for the poor and needy among us.

I encourage all of you to watch carefully on July 15 as your elected leaders lecture on the concerns of the poor living among us. Please ensure that they reflect the character and morals of our community. Those members who do not should vote accordingly in the next election.

Nick Aemisegger Jr. is the chief public defender for the Kalispell Public Defender Division and a member of the board of directors for the Flathead Warming Center.