My Prediction For The Missoula Senior Center

by Travis Mateer

When I first learned that my mugshot was posted at the Senior Center with a note telling staff to call 911 if seen, I was confused. If I had known that Ellie Boldman was the Director, I wouldn’t have had ANY confusion because I know how Ellie operates, having worked at the Poverello Center from 2008-2016 and seen for myself the extreme dysfunction this individual brings with her everywhere she goes. That’s why I wrote this story for Western Montana News.

Thanks to Ellie’s STREISAND move, I started wondering what this preemptive strike against me was intended to hide. For those unaware of the Streisand effect, here’s some context:

The Streisand effect is an example of psychological reactance, wherein once people are aware that some information is being kept from them, they are significantly more motivated to acquire and spread it.

The situation started coming into focus as I heard rumblings of unhappy volunteers and efforts to transform the board at the Senior Center, so I kept my ears open as this small town magic did its thing. Now, after keeping my feelers out, I feel like it’s time for an educated prediction about the near-future of this non-profit.

Before we get to my prediction, I wonder, how would Ellie justify her public posting of my mugshot to the board? Does attempting to depict me as some kind of threat help forward the Senior Center’s mission?

One of the unspoken tasks for a director like Ellie is to identify who in the organization might have more loyalty to the MISSION than to the DIRECTOR, and those people HAVE TO GO! I suspect the Senior Center is at this stage of the process currently, and the turmoil this kind of dysfunction breeds is NOT good for the clients.

After the purge, the rebranding will get going, and with the rebranding will come lofty promises. Will SELLING THE PROPERTY be a carefully crafted condition to achieve some as-of-yet unstated promise to the aging population ostensibly served by Missoula’s State Senator/Non-Profit Director/Lawyer? I don’t know, but that’s some of the quiet speculation I’m hearing.

Getting access to old people can be VERY lucrative because old people harken from an era where people could do quaint things, like buy houses, and many of them are STILL IN THOSE HOUSES. But, with the ravages of time, those old people ALSO need more and more help, because of physical and cognitive decline, which makes them juicy targets for scammers.

I feel bad for any non-loyal individual thinking they’re going to stick it out because leaving means handing over the chickens to the wolf. My suggestion? Unless you have the metaphorical cojones, DON’T DO IT.

A few weeks ago, in preparation for my Human Rights Bureau intake, I contacted someone who experience the asymmetrical attack of the political creature now ensconced within the Senior Center. Without outing the identity of this person, here was my request, pasted without the name. I’ll include a screenshot of the responses.

…do you recall the conversation we had about a certain state legislator who tried exploiting a personal relationship for political gain? I have a state agency possibly interested in investigating the political retaliation I’ve been experiencing and wanted to know if I could reference your experience. Thanks.

While the intake didn’t trigger an official investigation, MY investigations are ongoing, and LAND is one of the things EVERYONE should be thinking about.

Blue Line Development, Larchmont Golf Course, Workforce Housing, and other angles have put a BIG target on my back, and influencers like Ellie made sure people like my ex-wife knew what the price would be if I didn’t back down.

Well, I didn’t back down, and despite all the shit I’ve gone through in the past year, my writing has never been more prolific and informative.

So, happy birthday, Dr. Kenneth Stevenson! Every day I don’t fall back on the crutch of alcohol is a day that makes the euthanizing of your son by the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office meaningful, at least for me.

If you’re inclined to help a citizen journalist out, Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) is the way to do it.

Thanks for reading!