This article by Jordan Hansen originally appeared in the Daily Montanan.
Like other communities in Montana, Gallatin County and the Bozeman area have struggled with rising home prices and homelessness over the past decade.
A 2023 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that Montana had an 89% increase in homelessness from 2007 to 2023. Boseman rose 63.5% between 2019 and 2022, according to Montana Coalition’s data on solving the homelessness.
The new Gallatin County Ordinance imposes a prison penalty of up to $500 and/or 10 days for breaking the law.
“The intent here is to have enforcement tools when necessary, if necessary,” Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer told the committee during a July 1 discussion on the ordinance.
The hope is that quotations are given only as a last resort.
“This doesn’t necessarily appear as the most compassionate approach? And while I struggled with that feeling, I also feel a balance between connecting people to resources and protecting the health and safety of everyone in my community,” Commissioner Jennifer Boyer said on July 15th.
The commissioner hopes to retrieve data from the law enforcement agencies surrounding the issue, Boyer said. Officials called the move “active.”
Boseman passed its own urban camping law at the end of last year. Missoula is often the focus when discussing homeless Montanans, struggling with urban camps near Clark Fork, leading to the closure of public lands and cleanings.
In addition to this issue, the Johnson Street shelter in Missoula, funded by the US Rescue Plan Act, was recently closed.
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