HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-03-19 Public Comment - S. Staub - HRDC Warming Center SiteFrom:scstaub@mchsi.com
To:Agenda
Subject:Application #19438. HRDC overflow housing
Date:Sunday, November 03, 2019 3:38:43 PM
I'm writing in support of the application for HRDC Warming Center
Overflow.
The former site for the HRDC Overflow Center was in my neighborhood
and across the street from a grade school.
I volunteered there every day last fall and winter during the operating
season and I can tell you that these women were never a threat to
me. Some of them have some mental health issues and substance
abuse issues, but that is not a reason to keep them from living in a
neighborhood. They are not predators or violent...they are simply not
in a position to provide a place to live for themselves.
As you know Bozeman housing is very expensive. Some of these
women have jobs, but it is not enough to afford housing here. Most of
us have no idea of the struggles carried by people in our
neighborhoods, many of which could be the same as those who would
benefit from this housing. We have no way of knowing this let alone
regulating it.
Also, I believe there is a misunderstanding regarding the demographic
of those who would be in the house. The Overflow Center is reserved
for women and families with children. Most of the women who choose
the Overflow vs the regular Warming Center are those who do not
feel safe sleeping in the same building as men. I suggest compassion
toward these women rather than villainizing them.
Please approve this application.
Many thanks
Sherry Staub
1167 Saxon Way
Bozeman, 59718
"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love
only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are
taught." (Baba Dioum, 1968.)