Neighbors and businesses near the Flathead Warming Center in Kalispell say the shelter is increasing the presence of unhoused people. The shelter disputes those claims.
In July, the council delayed a vote on whether to revoke the Warming Center’s permit to stay open. Council members asked residents and the shelter to resolve their disagreements.
Warming Center director Tonya Horn told MTPR that neighbors' and businesses’ requests were unreasonable. They included hired security in the neighborhood, and that the shelter only serve people who've lived in the area for two years.
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce President Lorraine Clarno is serving as a mediator. She said a second scheduled meeting in August was called off.
The council is set to vote on the shelter’s permit Sept. 16. Horn says the shelter will take the city to court if its permit is revoked.
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A homeless shelter in Kalispell is taking the city to court after the city council revoked its permit to operate. The shelter’s lawyers expect this to be an important case nationally. -
The Flathead Valley will not have a homeless shelter this winter. The Kalispell City Council voted Monday to revoke a local shelter’s permit to operate. -
The Kalispell City Council is set to vote July 16th on whether to revoke a local homeless shelter’s permit.
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About two-thirds of those who were kicked off state Medicaid rolls lost it for technical reasons like incorrectly filling out paperwork. That’s one of the highest procedural disenrollment rates nationwide, according to an analysis. -
Flathead County commissioners have penned an open letter asking city councils in the area to reject the empowerment of "the homeless lifestyle," and to deny permits to build or expand homeless shelters. Advocates for homeless people are pushing back. -
The Flathead Warming Center in Kalispell is set to open its doors next week for its second season after an extensive remodel. The shelter expects a busy winter season due in part to the Flathead Valley’s housing crisis.
