by Travis Mateer

A podcast that I normally find insightful tried taking on the topic of homelessness recently and all I could think of while listening was how surface-level most people’s understanding of the topic is.

The systems in place that ostensibly exist to provide order and protection seem, at least to me, to be fully inverted mockeries of their stated purposes.

Regardless of my perception, I must rely on other people within these systems to gain a degree of order and protection for myself. I’ve had this viscerally highlighted over the last few weeks in direct confrontations with a variety of characters downtown.

Today I’ll be highlighting Tracy.

I took this picture of Tracy the day after I found her descending the stairs where I have an art studio downtown. While the barrier of a “velvet rope” had been put up, sending a fairly obvious signal to NON-mentally ill people that the space beyond the rope is off limits, that didn’t deter Tracy.

After taking the picture I recorded some footage of Tracy to back up my assertion that she is mentally unstable and therefore a threat to me. I hope it’s enough for the court to grant my order of protection, if I decided to file it, but that is no guarantee.

Here is the footage:

To begin the process for an order of protection, I started with the Crime Victim’s Advocate office. I’ve had their assistance before in a similar situation, but was told by the intake person on the phone that NOPE, I can’t get their help to fill out the paperwork.

If I was a DOMESTIC VIOLENCE victim, no problem, I’d get as much hand-holding as their grant-funding allows. But a former coordinator of a Homeless Outreach Program who has a mentally ill women trying to harm him because of their delusions? I guess not.

I decided to attend City Council last night after having my delightful experience with this mentally unstable woman to let them know what the current crisis services are like for a former homeless service provider like myself, especially since I’ve had other experiences in the past with the CVA office and DID get assistance that led to an order of protection against a DIFFERENT mentally unstable woman who figured out my home address and sent threatening letters to my home.

Unbeknownst to me, a significant amount of people showed up last night to City Council to protest AGAINST the closing of the Authorized Camping Site. Since I am NOT in support of this poorly thought out homeless triage site, the public comment I made referenced a different point.

I began my unscripted comment by stating my perception that the situation at hand was the result of our community providing FALSE HOPE to people that help actually exists. I also spoke about the violence being experienced by medical first responders and hospital staff, then referenced my own experience having an unstable person (Tracy) enter a space I’d like to keep FREE of threatening people who are dangerously fixated on me.

After making the comment I stormed out, in part because the emotional manipulation coming from some of the “houseless” people was difficult to hear, especially considering my knowledge of some of their histories. I did a quick search on one name and found an article that details some of the poor choices that can lead to bad outcomes. From the link:

Redcrow was convicted in 1988 of the Aug. 26, 1987, murder of Marie Ila Richie, who was stabbed to death in what was then the Sweet Rest Motel. Richie had angered Redcrow by stealing a jacket that belonged to Redcrow’s friend, Kathy Glover. Glover and Redcrow beat Richie as the women walked west along the south shore of the Clark Fork River. Police responded, but a bloodied Richie refused help.

Glover returned to a bar where the group had been drinking, while Redcrow and Richie crossed the river at McCormick Park and went to a room at the Sweet Rest that Redcrow shared with her boyfriend, Paul Regudon.

Once there, Redcrow stabbed Richie repeatedly while Regudon watched television, testimony at Redcrow’s trial showed. Regudon and Redcrow then carried Richie’s body to the island behind the motel, where all three were found by a police a short time later.

So, how does the world of WOKE figure into this? Maybe if I had stuck around to hear how all the poor victims of the Authorized Camping Site framed the terrible decision to shut that shit down, I’d have a better answer to that question, but instead I checked local headlines before finishing up this post and discovered that someone has been arrested for selling meth from INSIDE the Authorized Camping Site.

From the link:

On October 14, 2022, Missoula Police Department officers arrested a male for possessing 2.5 grams of methamphetamine.

During the officer’s interaction with the male, the male said that he had bought $100 worth of methamphetamine and that he had smoked two “bowls” worth of the substance from the pack that was located on him. The male told the officer that he bought his meth from a male named Cave at the Missoula Authorized Camping Site. Police Public Information Officer Lydia Arnold has more.

“Officer responded to the Authorized Camping Site on Clark Fork Lane for a report of a person selling illegal drugs there,” Arnold said. “Officers on the scene spoke with the security guards and were able to see video surveillance of the suspected area and the tent involved. In the tent, officers observed drug paraphernalia, weapons, and other items associated with illegal drug activity.”

I’m familiar with John Cave because he’s been around for years, just like a few others who got up to sell their sob stories to City Council last night.

Well, I’m not buying it. Shut that shit down! If the Poverello Center and the Johnson Street shelter and family shelter and TSOS aren’t enough, then I suggest case management by bus.

If that sounds harsh, that’s because you haven’t worked in direct services like I have, and you don’t know what some of these people are hiding.

If you appreciate this content, consider making a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!