HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-01-25 Public Comment - K. Durtka - Bozeman Right to CounselFrom:Karen Durtka
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Bozeman Right to Counsel
Date:Sunday, November 30, 2025 7:31:11 PM
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Dear Bozeman City Commission,
My name is Ren Durtka, and I have lived in the Bozeman area since I moved here for work
and high school when I was 15, and I organize with Bozeman Tenants United. Before the
age of 11, I had moved 9 times. Bozeman is the longest I have ever been in a single
location- 14 years! And I want my kids to experience the stability I did not have as a kid.
In 2024, I was working and attending Massage Therapy school here in Bozeman, plus solo
parenting. A friend I knew through the union was facing some issues, including a possible
eviction, and I wound up as a temporary kinship foster placement for her two preteen boys.
I was barely keeping all the balls in the air, until we had a flooding issue in our basement
and the juggling act was over. It was a long weekend, and I was solo parenting 4 children. I
couldn’t use the water in the basement for almost a week, for needs such as laundry,
without risking further damage.
When the landlord FINALLY came to solve the issue, she came with threats of eviction.
She said due to the mess, we had better either clean the house “to move in quality” or get
out. She had no interest in hearing anything about why it had gotten the way it was, or how
we had already made plans to rectify the situation. I was caring for 4 children, and working
and going to school- but now I had an additional thing to stress about. If I had had a lawyer
to back me up, maybe she never would have acted that way to begin with. Maybe she
would have cared enough to listen.
I have hope for Bozeman, despite the current state of affairs. Part of why I have hope is
that the City Commission has taken a cutting edge approach to the housing issues in
Bozeman, and begun working towards an innovative solution with the Right to Counsel
Program. I can envision a future where working class people have housing security here. I
challenge the City Commission to pass the strongest possible version of RTC, and keep
families in their homes.
I really appreciate what the City Commission is doing for the people here.
Thank you,
Ren Durtka