HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-18-25 Public Comment - I. Thompson - Bozeman Right to CounselFrom:kiail@yahoo.com To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]Bozeman Right to Counsel Date:Wednesday, April 16, 2025 2:24:49 PM 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. Dear City Commission, My name is Ian Thompson, I live at Bridger II Apartments. I have been disabled for 10 years, have two kids in school, and a caretaker. My kids’ mom is from here, born and raised in Montana. When my family first moved to Bozeman, our car broke down and we had nowhere to go. We sat in a motel for a couple days, and ran out of money. We got into a family shelter, quickly because we had kids. We barely made it into the apartment we’re in now, right before our housng voucher would have expired. When we were staying in our car, with all of our belongings in the back, I remember my children crying in the backseat, because they didn’t understand why they had tosleep upright in the car for months. We were houseless for about three years total, between motels, couch surfing, cars, and shelters. I was ashamed of myself. I was ashamed to live in a country where they don’t treatdisabled folks and children like they ought to. It’s difficult to get into a place in Bozeman. Even when we did get into a place, we’ve been searching for a downstairs unit, and a bigger one. I’m trying to be hopeful. It’sbeen over two years that we’ve been on a list for a 3 bedroom, but haven’t seen any luck. My caretaker lives on the couch. It’s cramped, and messy, even when it’s clean, due to the lack of space. I haven’t dealt with eviction from an apartment, but my stable housing has been sold out from under me before. If I was facing eviction today, I could certainly not afford a lawyer. Trying to raise two kids as a single dad, with limited income, is stressful every day. It constantly weighs on me to think about how much I can spend on the basics and make sure that bills get paid. My biggest hurdle is how limited my income is. I got disabled from heat stroke. I was working in the hot sun in New Mexico, andstarted having grand mal seizures. When I got disabled, I blamed myself. I regret not taking better care of my body in that situation. However, that job worked people to death. When it’s high elevation in the desert, and you’re working in the hot sun for hours, someone’s going to get heat stroke. At that job, they tell you a minimum of 12 hours, usually more like 16-18 every day,and by the last week it’s usually 21 hours per week. It took me 3 years of living with seizures to get approved for disability. I got a stack of papers about a foot tall to turn in. Our country would be better if your basic necessities were taken care of. If we wanted to be a happy country, working people to death is not the way to do it. If our city had lawyers for tenants facing eviction or illegal landlord practices, I could know that there’s one less fear of losing my housing. I could also know that I would be protected if my landlord tried to put basic repairs, that they’re responsible for, on mybill. I could ask for basic things to be fixed or to move into the bigger apartment my family needs, without fear of retaliation. Fund Right to Counsel and keep families and individuals safely in their homes.