Day: June 7, 2023

by Travis Mateer

When it comes to influence, it’s important to NOT underestimate people, even if they have “little fingers”. I think Martin “Gomer” Kidston understands this, considering his terrible reporting keeps my ten little fingers busy archiving what’s REALLY going on in Zoom Town.

The toy figure pictured above (which I will transform into art) was purchased earlier today at Secret Seconds, a great store that helps fund services for YWCA families. Or at least they used to, before customers got scared away by the location next to the Poverello Center and the sprawling encampment that ANYONE now sees as they come to downtown from the west.

Here’s an image from some footage I took on May 26th. It’s much worse now.

While this conversation about urban camping rages on, and a critical lack of funding is constantly being referenced by elected leaders, the Missoula Current piece that boggled my brain for this bonus post today is about the change-a-roo of plans to renovate a shitty motel just a couple hundred feet from the tent city that has ballooned at this location after Russell Street was cleaned up.

Some of the fun of this article includes the fact our CITY Council member, Heidi West, is ALSO a County Planner. I don’t think I knew that before today, so thanks Gomer!

From the link (emphasis mine):

An old West Broadway motel once eyed for renovation to provide transitional housing for homeless veterans in Missoula will be removed and replaced with a new facility, county officials said this week.

The Poverello Center in 2021 purchased the Clark Fork Inn using $1 million provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The city and county of Missoula each contributed $835,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding as well to help the Poverello secure the property and cover renovations.

But while the original plan envisioned rehabilitation, the project’s architect determined that new construction was the better and more cost-effective solution.

Did you know that EXPANDING projects makes them more “cost-effective”? I’m sure somehow this claim is technically accurate, but that doesn’t make some of the stuff that comes next any less galling, even IF we are talking about serving Veterans (emphasis mine):

“It was deemed more economical to take down the L-shaped building and construct 16 new units that would also better accommodate residents,” said county planner Heidi West. “That will allow room for a community kitchen, laundry and other shared facilities.”

The change in plans adds an estimated $2 million to the project’s initial $4.7 million cost. But the county in 2022 applied for and was awarded a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant, which will help cover the remainder when local ARPA contributions are included, West said.

I know my University degree is in English, but these numbers don’t really seem to be economical at all. Is there anything else in the article that might disabuse me of skepticism? Not that I can find. What I DO find is this final claim to be a little disingenuous, considering the location we’re talking about (emphasis mine):

“This will help eliminate the stressors for veterans who may need mental health support or who suffer from traumatic stress,” city grants administrator Tracy Pohndorf told the Missoula Current last year. “The move elevates the Poverello’s ability to help veterans thrive and heal as they transition from homelessness to stable housing.”

This MIGHT be accurate if the entire area around the Poverello Center wasn’t a lawless dystopia causing businesses to flee amid customer fear and staffing problems as a DIRECT result of what’s happening in this part of Zoom Town.

Due to recent stabbings (plural), Secret Seconds has had to go on lock down several times. My understanding is the STRESS of this location has caused one team member to recently quit. While things were far from perfect in years past, what’s currently happening is on a level never before seen or experienced, which is why our City Council is in such major damage control mode.

Not far from Secret Seconds, I stopped by Lion’s Park to see how things are going next to the Youth Homes facility that houses vulnerable youth. Not surprising, it’s not good.

If a Veteran at this new, upcoming facility for the Pov’s Veteran program wants to have some reflective moments at the park, or along the river trail, I’m not sure this will be a conducive environment for that kind of use if Missoula’s priorities continues to be WE CAN HAVE IT ALL AND DON’T TELL US OTHERWISE!

On the HAVE IT ALL front, there’s that new group exploring redevelopment of the ill-fated Fox Theatre Site, and the “due diligence” involved in buying a recreational mountain–a recreational mountain for the homeless? Maybe, so stay tuned, and consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF), or making a donation at my about page.

Tomorrow’s post about the looming tax bill is already scheduled, and with all the worry about the average 37% increase in taxable property value this round of reappraising is about to drop on beleaguered tax payers, I understand if you wait before making that donation to see if tent housing in Zoom Town might not be the best option for YOU.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Maybe it’s just me, but I REALLY don’t like the secular preachers of community organizing, mostly because I regret my time as a progressive thinking ideas like harm reduction and housing first were worthy of BIG GOVERNMENT support.

Before getting to the Missoulian article that inspired this post, allow me to quote myself from a 2022 post where I describe some of my thoughts on Hyper-Localism:

A few months ago I started thinking of my focus with this blog as hyper-localism because, despite being a big picture thinker, I realized that larger scale forms of organization are more vulnerable to infiltration and co-optation. I also think it’s where one can have more impact.

My disgust for national politics is something young progressives would probably like to fix, since they’re saving the world from climate change and all, so let’s take a look at who this host organization is and what they’re up to. From the Missoulian link (emphasis mine):

Kris Marion was tearful and her earrings jiggled as the Wisconsin agriculture organizer discussed the impact of the Small Town Summit Monday afternoon in Missoula.

The event, hosted by the United Today, Stronger Tomorrow conglomerate of organizations, brought together more than 250 small-town activists over three days in downtown Missoula. With a focus on progressive policy issues in rural locales, the summit offered workshops like: “Getting Men Out of the ‘Problematic’ Pipeline” and “Attacks on Queer People in Our Turf.”

The summit was the first UTST organized, and the leaders selected Missoula for its regional accessibility in the Mountain West. The idea was to guide organizers forward in their work and shift narratives around small, rural places.

Sorry, UTST, I don’t need nationally-trained twerps coming to this town to shift my narrative. But I’m sure the director of this project, Paul Getsos, enjoys winding up organizers and setting them loose to find those poor people who need trained organizers to help them talk well…and then vote Democrat?

One of the things organizations like this can do that’s important is pay people money. Since I’m not immune to the need for money, I’ve been close a few times to doing work like this. I even interviewed for a position at the North Missoula Community Development Corporation.

If this dude and his org are adamant about moving into Montana, I could potentially help them identify some meaningful work to do on the streets. May I suggest a workshop on how to process emotions without stabbing your homeless brethren? Because this is getting ridiculous.

From the link:

The officer asked Doe to describe how the incident started. Doe stated that earlier, near the alleyway on the east side of Hawthorne to the north of Cedar Street, he was speaking with a friend when he was approached by the suspect who engaged him in a hostile verbal conflict. The suspect male made the comment that Doe was the “next to get the knife” or something similar.

The male briefly separated away, but then looped back at which point he pulled out a knife from around his back and began charging at Doe telling him that he was going to kill him. Doe fled on foot to the north falling to the ground in the trees and bushes near the sidewalk just north of the intersection.  

Doe described the suspect as swinging the knife at him in a clear attempt to stab him with it and vocalizing that he was going to kill him. Doe stated that he was on his back kicking at the male to fight him off. The male eventually stopped trying to stab Doe and proceeded to flee east on Pine Street.

How does UTST define the problems facing the “intermountain west”? Here’s a screenshot of their VISION (emphasis mine):

I wonder, are homeless encampments along a river an issue that could be seen as related to clean water? And, if so, would a UTST organizer have been in SUPPORT of Monday’s emergency actions, or against it?

I have come to believe that having political ambitions beyond one’s local community is antithetical to actually helping that local community, and this applies to BOTH political parties in Montana. To exemplify what I’m talking about, let’s take a look at two Attorney Generals.

Did Steve Bullock, when he was Attorney General, abdicate his duty to provide oversight of Lake County in order to get his shot at being Governor? It’s hard to read this old Indy article (PDF) about the Coyote Club and NOT come to that conclusion. Here’s a relevant portion from the article:

This article provides important historical context as ANOTHER Attorney General considers how to sideline justice for families dealing with incompetent or complicit Sheriff Office investigations in order to possibly take a shot at a higher political office.

I hope THIS Attorney General, pictured above, understands there are things I am HOLDING BACK on writing because I’m hoping the state of Montana is taking some cases more seriously than it appears they are. I hope I’m wrong, but people like Andy Yedinak aren’t giving me much to be hopeful for.

I’ll leave it there, for now. If you appreciate my coverage of LOCAL issues, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to support me. You can also provide a donation at my about page.

Thanks for reading!