by Travis Mateer

Once upon a time United Way of Missoula County had direct oversight of Missoula’s 10 Year Plan To End Homelessness. That changed after about 4 years into the plan’s implementation, though you wouldn’t know it by perusing United Way’s website. Here’s how United Way defines their mission in Missoula:

I’ve been paying close attention to the societal impacts of United Way and its guru of influence, Susan Hay Patrick, since leaving my job as an enabler of community influencers in 2016, influencers who have failed so spectacularly over the years to address things like homelessness and addiction.

Now, after initiatives like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the 10 Year Plan To End Homelessness have been created and promoted, United Way of Missoula County is shifting its focus to child care. I’m especially interested in the PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP aspect of this new “proposal”. From the link:

Grace Decker of United Way said a growing list of community partners have lined up behind the proposal as it seeks funding from the state’s Child Care Innovation and Infrastructure Grant.

“I’m feeling so positive about it,” Decker said on Tuesday. “We have had so much support from so many sectors across the community for the project. There are several businesses really interested in becoming members, as soon as that’s available.”

The program, dubbed Missoula Childcare Advantage, envisions a public-private partnership that would establish a new model of daycare across Missoula. Securing quality and affordable childcare presents a challenge for working families in Missoula and has emerged as one of the top workforce issues facing the city, advocates contend.

Childcare is now a broken model in search of a solution, the county said.

There’s more I’d like to say about this, but I’ll leave it here for now. Suffice it to say, anyone claiming the situation with homelessness and addiction has gotten BETTER since United Way has gotten involved is either delusional, or paid to be ignorant.

Thanks for reading!