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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-05-24 Public Comment - D. Carlson - Responding to HomelessnessDear Friends, Disability Rights Montana is a private non-profit designated as the protection and advocacy system for Montana. As the state’s protection and advocacy system, Disability Rights Montana has a federal mandate to protect and advance the rights of people with disabilities across our state. This includes the extremely high proportion of our unhoused community who have mental illnesses and other disabilities. In response to the United States Supreme Court opinion in Grant’s Pass, I authored a guest column in the Daily Montanan titled “Jailing the Homeless Won’t Solve the Problem, It’ll Just Kick People Who Are Already Down.” I wanted to share it with you directly and offer my support in advocating for sustainable, systemic solutions. The guest coloumn is linked at the bottom of this email. As I mention in my guest column, for most of my childhood my father was unhoused. This informs my approach, as does the decades of professional experience I have advocating for systemic changes to services delivered to people with significant mental illness who are homeless, incarcerated, and hospitalized. I fully appreciate that homelessness is a complex and multifaceted problem. I also know that it cannot be effectively addressed through criminalization. Jailing individuals who are experiencing homelessness does not solve the underlying issues that led to their situation. Instead, it exacerbates their struggles to access housing and treatment and places an additional burden on our already strained criminal legal system. I understand that you and your community may not have all the money, housing, or professionals necessary to fully transform our housing and behavioral health services on your own. I ask that you join Disability Rights Montana and the Montana Coalition to Solve Homelessness as we advocate for statewide changes while also identifying and supporting solutions within the reach of local communities. Examples of the work in this area that Disability Rights Montana, as the state’s protection and advocacy system, is currently engaged in and will build upon in the coming year include: Monitoring the conditions of local jails that people with mental illness and other disabilities are held in;Investigating the unconstitutionally long delays in the state’s delivery of competency evaluation and restoration servicesfor people with mental illness who are detained in jails, but are not competent to be tried for a crime; Advocating for systemic changes to address deficiencies we see in the above monitoring and investigation; and From:David CarlsonTo:Bozeman Public CommentSubject:[EXTERNAL][SENDER UNVERIFIED]Responding to HomelessnessDate:Monday, August 5, 2024 7:55:13 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Advocating to modernize our community-based services and hospital treatment for people with significant mentalillness. Examples of advocacy that the Montana Coalition to Solve Homelessness have prioritized for the upcoming legislative session include: State grants to support shelter services State study on care coordination, wraparound services, and permanent supportive housing More public funding of permanent supportive housing Renew Medicaid expansionBetter transitions form jail, prison, and hospitals to the community If you would like to discuss how we can partner on the issue of homelessness further, please contact me at davidc@disabilityrightsmt.org or 800-245-4743. Sincerely, David Carlson Executive Director Disability Rights Montana Disability Rights Montana protects and advocates for the human, legal, and civil rights of Montanans with disabilities while advancing dignity, equality, and self-determination. Copyright © 2024 Disability Rights Montana, All rights reserved Disability Rights Montana 1022 Chestnut Street | Helena, Montana 59601 406-449-2344 | communications@DisabilityRightsMT.org Engage with us online: Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser Unsubscribe or Manage Your Preferences Guest Column in the Daily Montanan: "Jailing the HomelessWon’t Solve the Problem, It’ll Just Kick People Who Are AlreadyDown.”