The Missoulian had a good write up today on the Poverello Center’s plans for a drop in center for clients under the influence of alcohol. In addition to simply being a “tank” where a person who has become a public nuisance due to alcohol and be brought to sober up, the center will provide food, substance abuse counselors, social workers, and STD testing.
This is an important step for the Pov, and also a move in the right direction for the city of Missoula as we experience some growing pains that many cities like ours do. Unfortunately, city council members Dick Haines and Renee Mitchell would apparently rather bury their heads in the sand and hope problems such as public intoxication and panhandling simply go away. Both Mitchell and Haines apparently expressed concern that the center would attract more of these problems to Missoula. The Missoulian even credits Dick Haines as claiming that the Poverello Center itself is responsible for there being more transients in Missoula.
I suppose this also means that more men in Missoula don’t worry about their blood pressure and cholesterol because we’ve got a great heart institute at St. Pat’s. What we should really do if want to get rid of Missoula’s problems, is simply eliminate services that attempt to address them right?
2 responses so far ↓
1 Gerik // Jul 2, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Touché!
2 problembear // Jul 3, 2008 at 4:24 pm
it has always been a wonderment to me that people can be live their lives so oblivious to the realities of the poor that they appear to be just plain mean-spirited. the economy has just begun to tip backwards and the angle of repose for most of us is just a few paychecks away from being there. OF COURSE WE NEED THIS. thanks to the poverello for proposing it.
and this quote goes out to Dick Haines:
overheard while waiting in line a few weeks ago at Orange Street Food Farm- missoula’s best place to meet and share news:
“today I had to get a third job to pay for the gas to get to my other two jobs.”
this statement brought laughs from everyone standing in line because it is so true. wake up Dick. there’s a whole other world out there just waiting for you to discover and pitch in and help.
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