HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-16-20 Public Comment - T. Goebel - In Support of Housing First VillageFrom:Tia Goebel
To:Agenda
Subject:In Support of Housing First Village
Date:Monday, November 16, 2020 6:58:59 PM
Dear Susana Montana,
I write to you as a 6 1/2 year Bozeman resident and MSU graduate that has struggled to find
affordable housing and worked at the HRDC Warming Center for 2 seasons.
I've lived and worked in Bozeman since 2014. I've lived in 8 different properties, not out ofchoice, but many times out of survival. I've lived with two mentors that took me under their
wing while I struggled to find housing. They did this without asking for a dime of rent.Without them I don't know what I would have done.
While I write as an advocate of affordable housing on my own behalf, I know there are many
in my community that are in more vulnerable positions. I want this community to make ahome for them, too. My two seasons at the Warming Center taught me that homelessness can
happen to anyone and it is incredibly difficult to get out of homelessness once you are in it.Please hear my plea for a Housing First Village and consider the people that wouldbenefit that are not in a position to write a letter like this.
Consider the people that use the public internet at the library (whose access to services arelimited due to COVID). Consider the women that have survived sexual abuse that would
rather sleep OUTSIDE in below freezing temperatures than inside due to a shelter full ofstrange men. Consider the longtime members of our community that shovel sidewalks, work at
gas stations, and paint windows and can't afford enough to live here - no matter how manyhours they work. Consider the family that is rolling through town and needs a place to stay
because their car broke down and they can't afford a hotel. This tiny housing village wouldopen up spots in our shelters for others in need, families like them.
I saw over 300 unique guests in my first season at the Warming Center. (That was 5short months.) Consider the voiceless - consider those 300 voices.
I was pleased to learn that the Human Resource Development Council of District IX has apending application with The City of Bozeman for approval of their site plan and special use
permit for the development of Housing First Village, an affordable housing initiative, onNorth 7 th Avenue at 2007 Wheat Drive.
I would like to take this opportunity to share my full support of Housing First Village as well
as their application for site plan and special use permit approval.
Thank you for considering my comment.Sincerely,
Tia Goebel
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Tia Goebel
pronouns: she, her, hers
Cell: (605) 440-1452