Collaboration the right approach to homeless issues

For those of us who go to sleep each night in a warm bed and a roof over our head, it’s easy to ignore the problem of homelessness in the Flathead Valley. It’s also easy to dismiss this growing problem with the notion that in a robust economy and “help wanted” signs everywhere, anyone should be able to get a job and a place to live.

If only it were that simple.

Homelessness is very often intertwined with mental-health and substance-abuse issues, and that makes it difficult to find solutions. It’s not a one-size-fits-all problem.

We applaud the ongoing efforts of the Alliance for a Drug Free Flathead, which has taken the lead in collaborating with community stakeholders to address gaps in emergency and transitional shelter facilities in Flathead County. Not surprisingly, stakeholders have found a significant need for both types of shelters, but the greatest need is for transitional shelters that allow homeless individuals to stay for extended periods of time and work with professionals and other staff to manage addiction, get in touch with mental-health providers and get back on their feet in the community, according to a report in Saturday’s Inter Lake by health-care reporter Kianna Gardner.

Community leaders have conducted months of collaborative research in which they’ve identified ways to effectively divert individuals suffering from mental-health issues or substance-use disorders from the criminal justice system and other locations. A grant from the Montana Health Care Foundation enabled stakeholders to use comprehensive community resource mapping tool to analyze and compile information.

When the resulting map showed there is no therapist dedicated to assisting law enforcement when mental-health emergencies are called in, a tangible solution was identified and is being put into action. Western Montana Mental Health is launching a job search for such a therapist.

There were an estimated 434 people who experienced homelessness in the Flathead last year. Even though a new emergency shelter, the Flathead Warming Center, added a significant number of beds, shelters are still full every night, and a number of individuals have been turned away.

It does the homeless population no good, however, to simply build more shelters unless practical and effective solutions are found for those suffering from mental-health issues or substance abuse. The Alliance for a Drug Free Flathead and other groups are making a difference, and deserve our support.