HomeMy WebLinkAbout6-6-2020 Public Comment - P. McKernan - Support Warming Center and Blue PrintFrom:agenda@bozeman.net
To:Agenda
Subject:Thank you for your public comment.
Date:Saturday, June 6, 2020 9:03:29 AM
A new entry to a form/survey has been submitted.
Form Name:Public Comment Form
Date & Time:06/06/2020 9:03 AM
Response #:402
Submitter ID:27376
IP address:216.166.169.14
Time to complete:10 min. , 23 sec.
Survey Details
Page 1
Public comment may be submitted via the form below, or by any of the following options.
Public comment may also be given at any public meeting.
Email:
agenda@bozeman.net
Mail to:
Attn: City Commission
PO Box 1230
Bozeman, MT 59771
In-person delivery to:
Due to City Hall's closure in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in-person delivery of comments is not
available until further notice.
First Name Patricia
Last Name McKernan
Email Address mckernanpa@gmail.com
Phone Number Not answered
Comments
I support the utilization of 2015 Wheat Drive for our community’s new warming center operated by HRDC
(application #20145). I also support the expansion of HRDC’s Blueprint program into the proposed two
additional homes (application #20116). Please approve these applications.
When I moved to Bozeman from Seattle 20 years ago, I was struck to learn there was no homeless shelter
in our area. I naively wondered if maybe there wasn’t a homeless problem in Bozeman, which of course
wasn’t true then, and certainly is even less true now. It took another 10 years and the freezing death of a
person without shelter to summon the community support to even have a winter warming center with
limited hours of operation. In 2007, community donors overwhelmingly supported the building of beautiful,
modern facility for homeless animals to replace an inadequate, overcrowded shelter. As an animal lover, I
applauded and supported this improved safety net for animals in need. I thought surely, with that much
compassion in our community for animals, a year-round homeless shelter for people without homes would
not be long in coming. Of course, that was not to be, and that need remains to this day. The need has only
been increasing over the years as the high cost of living and relatively low salaries in our area have driven
more individuals and even whole families in to homelessness. The risk to people without adequate shelter
has dramatically increased with the Covid pandemic. It is long past time for our community and city to
support the establishment of a permanent, year-round 24-hour Warming Center to give the dignity of
shelter, with access to other support services, to these vulnerable fellow community members.
If you would like to submit additional documents (.pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .gif, .jpg, .png, .rtf, .txt)
along with your comment, you may alternately address agenda@bozeman.net directly to ensure
receipt of all information.
Thank you,
City Of Bozeman
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