With Lawsuit Pending, Warming Center Announces New Community Guide and Law Enforcement Liaison
The center intends to hire on a law enforcement point-person dedicated to facilitating communication between the center and police on a regular basis, along with hosting regular public forums
By Zoë Buhrmaster
As a lawsuit proceeds between the nonprofit Flathead Warming Center and the city of Kalispell, the local low-barrier homeless shelter on Tuesday released a community connection guide introducing plans for a new law-enforcement liaison position and announcing its intent to host periodic community meetings. The guide also delineates some of the center’s standards for ways the community can engage with the organization.
As part of the new guide, the center intends to hire a law enforcement point-person dedicated to facilitating communication between the center and police on a regular basis. Tonya Horn, executive director of the Flathead Warming Center, said the position is still in its early drafting phase, and she is looking forward to seeing who the police chief might recommend for the position.
“We want to partner with city and law enforcement more to have more communication and collaboration,” Horn said. “So that if someone is being destructive in the community, we can collaborate in holding them accountable.”
The guide also spells out plans to host periodic community meetings. The center has always maintained an open-door policy, which the guide emphasizes; however, Horn said in the past open houses designated for the surrounding area have had little success rate. She said the community meetings would operate as an open forum, a space for community members to meet the staff and voice any feedback they may have.
Complaints from community members against the local emergency shelter figured prominently into the city of Kalispell’s decision to revoke the nonprofit’s special use permit last fall, effectively shutting down services. In response, the shelter partnered with the the Texas-based Institute for Justice (IJ) to sue the city, winning a preliminary injunction that allows the shelter to remain open this winter.
“Through this process we do understand we can always do better, and that’s what the community connection plan is all about,” Horn said. “We want to be at the table for solutions. We’re hoping through the community connection plan that everyone will be at the table.”