Warming Center Wednesdays
Warming Center Wednesdays
We are excited to announce Warming Center Wednesdays!
Our Executive Director, Tonya Horn, sits down with KGEZ's John Hendricks to talk about homelessness in the Flathead Valley and around Montana! We believe we can work collaboratively as a community to come up with out of the box solutions that protect our local businesses but provide dignity to our friends and neighbors struggling with homelessness.
Join us every Wednesday at 12:45pm on KGEZ on AM600 and FM96.5!
Questions?
Call 406-885-3042
Episodes
Episode 1: Welcome to Warming Center Wednesday
Today we talk about what needs our Founders were seeing when they decided to start the Flathead Warming Center. We also give a brief history of our nonprofit.
Episode 2: Why are we seeing increased homelessness?
We discuss why there has been an increase in the visibility of our homeless population and we talk about some of the causes of this complicated issue.
Episode 3: FWC overnight shelter season draws to a close
We discuss the countdown to the end of the Flathead Warming Center overnight shelter season. We also discuss various barriers that homeless individuals face in rebuilding their lives.
Episode 4: What is the Plan?
We talk about our Roadmap Initiative that requires each guest staying seven nights to meet with qualified staff to determine incremental steps to get out of homelessness. We also clear up some misconceptions about holding individuals accountable and not playing the blame game.
Episode 5: Shelter and Safety First
Today we discuss Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the importance of shelter and safety as foundational necessities. We also talk about how recent misinformation has worked to dehumanize the homeless.
Episode 6: Holding guests accountable
We talk about how we hold our guests accountable for their behavior through our Occupancy Agreement, our Roadmap initiative and through teaching them to be a good neighbor. It is a long road from homelessness to home. Because of our high standards of accountability, there are some homeless individuals that we cannot serve. Low-barrier does not mean low standards.
Episode 7: Who we ARE and Who we AREN’T
We discuss What we ARE at the Flathead Warming Center, and What we AREN'T. We are a last resort for people and the very first step to getting their lives back. We are a safe place to rest. We are not a destination. We provide a bunk room in a remodeled garage where people sleep on plastic mats. We are not a magnet that draws people from all over to stay at the Warming Center.