The City of Kalispell Mayor’s Homeless Task Force will present the results of a nearly year-long assessment of homelessness in the city at a City Council Work Session this evening. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom videoconference.

In winter of 2019, following backlash that a new city ordinance created an added barrier on homeless individuals by imposing a fine for sleeping in vehicles, Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson organized a task force to assess the realities of homelessness in the area.

The eight-person task force is made up of former city councilors Tom Kuntz and Jim Atkinson, Planning Director Jared Nygren, City Manager Doug Russell, Pastors Scott Thompson and Miriam Mauritzen, and Thomas Rygg, the owner of two vacant lots along East Idaho Street.

The task force did not include any members from organizations that provide services to the local homeless population, such as The Flathead Food Bank or the Samaritan House, although there were meetings with representatives from some local service organizations. The task force’s report for the Monday work session stated, “The task force did not include any stakeholders or direct providers in order to avoid any bias or cognitive dissonance in the information gathering process.”

Despite the task force being void of various service providers, the report concluded “it is the Task Force finding that funding and even investigating … falls at the feet of the stakeholders, the homeless assistance professionals, in collaboration with public and private partners.”

This conclusion stems from the task force’s research into possible solutions to homelessness at the city level, such as inclusionary zoning, rent control and efforts to increase affordable housing — methods the group ultimately determined would not be effective.

“A look at published studies and articles show that most government programs, with the exception of rent subsidies, are having little or no long-term success,” the report states. “What is working are privately funded community partnerships with stakeholders working together across disciplinary lines to create solutions that best match their community needs in terms of services and scale.”

By looking at other cities and national trends, the task force also concluded that potential remedies such as rent control or expanding shelter services would not solve Kalispell’s local homelessness issue. According to the report, rent control could cause property owners to take unprofitable rentals off the rental market, and expanded shelter services with “more tolerable conditions” might encourage more people to turn to service providers, thereby “creating that which they are trying to eradicate.”

ALTHOUGH AFFORDABLE housing challenges have become a hot-button issue across the valley in recent years as the local population continues to expand, the task force report describes this popular notion as “the myth of affordable housing and homelessness.”

“Homelessness is NOT a housing issue,” William Matson, Executive Director of Pathways Community Network Institute, is quoted as saying in the report.

Instead, the Task Force attributes the causes of homelessness to disabilities and low or even non-existent incomes, which would make even the lowest monthly rent unaffordable for these individuals. The report also cites lifestyle choices such as “lack of budget knowledge” and “discretionary expenditures from fast food to toys” as factors that can lead to someone experiencing homelessness.

The report outlines 15 proposals based on the research to assist Kalispell’s “unsheltered population, those at greatest risk for elemental exposure and negative social and law enforcement contacts.”

This population includes those who are “sleeping in a place not meant for habitation,” living without access to running water and electricity, living in an RV, car or truck, and/or living in parks, on sidewalks, cars or abandoned buildings. There are approximately 40 people living in these circumstances in Kalispell, according to the report, although the total homeless population is estimated to be much higher.

Proposed solutions include: improving data collection and monitoring, finding permanent funding for United Way’s 211 referral and information hotline, and establishing a low-barrier shelter, among other proposals.

The Work Session starts at 7 p.m. via Zoom videoconference at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SXEaYw7OQZ-wy1F4yNKNHQ. Public comments can also be submitted by email to publiccomment@kalispell.com. A full copy of the Task Force report can be found at: https://www.kalispell.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10262020-525

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at (406)-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com.