HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-17-23 Public Comment - L. Parks - Unhoused Community Lauren
Gallatin High School
Ms. Warn
4455 Annie St.
Bozeman, MT 59718
March 7, 2023
Bozeman City Comission
121 N Rouse Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715
Dear Ms. Andrus,
My name is Lauren Parks, I am a junioir at Gallatin High school and I have lived in Bozeman for about
seven years.) am writing to you to address a worsening issue in Gallatin County. After further research
into this topic it is obvious that many causes have led to the homeless population drastically increrasing.
Many people have wound up living in campers and RVs on the side of Bozemans roads and it started with
Covid-19. The rate of homelessness in Bozeman has increased by 35% from 2019 to 2021. Some people
cant afford housing in the Bozeman area, "Its expensive being homeless" stated Steven Ankey, from The
Plight of Bozemans Homeless People article. Like an increasing number of Bozemans residents, Belinda
and Steven Ankey currently live out of a vehicle. The couple of 13 years have been living in a trailer for
about two and half years and have been working everyday to get to a more permanent home. Most
homeless people that are in these living conditions have current jobs. They just need some extra help to
get them to a better living situation than they currently have.
From the Bozeman Daily Chronicle"Amid Tight Housing Market Some in Bozeman Turn to RVs as
Permanant Homes," it is evident that Resource Officers have gone out with the HRDC staff members to
check in with these people and offer them any support they may need. Such as cash to fix or repair any
damaged parts of their campers, and or connecting them to housing resource navigators to get them to
the next step. In the long run, I think a more efficient fix to help the homeless population would be to
provide more subsidized housing. This is not a quick fix but to see the best reached outcomes, we need
more sufficient and affordable options available to the citizens of Bozeman. Some of the issues that these
people are faced with go farther than not being able to afford stable housing. Some are in desperate need
of mental health or addiction recovery services. Getting that sorted out first will improve our chances of
success.
The benefits we would reach by resolving these issues would be favorable to many. The homeless
population would decrease and the roads that are occupied by RVs would be cleared out and cleaned.
These people are not choosing to live in these conditions and they are doing everything they can to
improve their lifestyle. Bozemans citizens just need the Bozeman City Comission to build more subsidized
housing with affordable prices.
Thank you for your time,
Lauren Parks