by Travis Mateer

I’ve used this picture of Sean Stevenson with Salma Hayek dozens of times to get people’s attention because it represents just ONE incredible aspect of Sean’s story, but in terms of understanding why Sean originally decided to relocate to Montana, the person I would REALLY like to talk to is this woman:

I know there was an idea of starting a food joint of some kind in Montana because part of Sean’s recovery entailed taking business classes at a program he attended for several months before moving into an apartment with a VERY sought after permanent housing voucher.

Sean was smart and knew that he had a good housing situation. I spoke with the woman who helped get Sean off the streets when I was in Denver and she said he avoided the normal pitfalls of letting people crash at his new place, thus putting his housing at risk. So why did he leave? And why did he come to Montana?

Maybe Sean’s girlfriend (the woman pictured above) somehow convinced Sean to relocate to Big Sky country. A fresh start is much easier when you’re with someone who knows the landscape a bit, especially if you’re a black man going into a northwestern state like Montana.

I believe the woman’s name is Ann, but I’m not totally sure. Sean’s family tried reaching out to her around the time Sean was euthanized by the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office inside a private hospital room, but they weren’t able to connect with her, is my understanding.

Sean didn’t come to Montana to live a homeless lifestyle, like some people do. Sean came to Montana with a woman and a business idea, and Missoula was NOT his first stop, Flathead County was.

Montana might be a BIG state, geographically speaking, but it’s not that big when it comes to the people who live here, so if you know this woman, I would really like to talk to her. My email is willskink at yahoo dot com. Please reach out if you know anything. I’ll leave it there, for now.

If you’d like to support my work, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is one way to do that, and making a donation at my about page is another.

Thanks for reading!