by William Skink
Yesterday a homeless man was found unresponsive outside the Union Gospel Mission and later pronounced dead due to hypothermia. Today it was finally reported by one local media outlet, NBC Montana:
The Missoula Police Department responded to an unresponsive man at the block of 600 Owen Street at 6:25 a.m. Monday.
The coroner says Timothy Lloyd, 61, was pronounced dead at the hospital due to hypothermia.
Authorities don’t believe foul play was involved.
That’s it, just a little blurb. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if an image of his dead body appeared above the fold in the Missoulian. If one image of a dead refugee can inspire Missoula to welcome hundreds of refugees a year, maybe showing this homeless man’s frozen corpse will transform lip-service into action.
Were the Union Gospel Mission doors locked?
UGM had yet to open up overnight, and it’s not just their responsibility to provide a warm, safe space for the chronically homeless–it’s Missoula’s responsibility, and it’s one our leaders have failed to provide action on year after year despite lots of lip service.
local media did get around to reporting Tim’s death. I appreciated the Indy’s piece by Derek Brouwer the most: http://missoulanews.com/news/the-season-s-first-cold-snap-claims-homeless-man-timothy/article_03eb66e2-c4c9-11e7-88a3-578fd56518df.html
Brouwer’s article is spot-on. There was a good letter to the editor in the “Missoulian” about the use of the word transient for a Missoulian.
“Each one of us lives a complex life. To distill a person’s existence down to the label of “transient” is degrading. In this town, that term is often used in conversations which ridicule, place judgment, or dehumanize a person who is experiencing homelessness. It creates a false truth — that someone without permanent housing cannot be a Missoulian.”
http://missoulian.com/opinion/letters/term-transient-creates-false-truth/article_835f0ccb-1e4a-59a0-9898-d6368d43423e.html