The Flathead Warming Center welcomes an Executive Director

Tonya Horn has been selected as the Executive Director of the Flathead Warming Center, a low barrier, warm and safe place for unsheltered individuals during the coldest months in the Flathead. Horn’s background as a social worker assisting individuals who struggle with severe and disabling mental illness and her experience as the former Director of the Bozeman Warming Center uniquely qualifies her to assume this role.

Horn is co-founder of the Flathead Warming Center and developer of the policies and procedures that have proven effective to maintain a safe and clean shelter, provide safeguards for staff, volunteers, guests and the facility in addition to our community. The FWC has seen the benefits of Tonya’s knowledge and experience as she played a pivotal role in opening our shelter doors for a successful first season.

The FWC is primarily a volunteer initiative with over 57 individual community on-site volunteers. In the first season of operation, the Flathead Warming Center provided shelter services to 105 individuals, including families. Almost nightly, the shelter reached capacity, resulting in approximately168 occurrences where individuals had to be turned away. There were 86 times that individuals slept in the Kalispell Police Station lobby this past winter to avoid the bitter cold.

While the FWC had a successful first season at Christ Church Episcopal, more work needs to be done to provide emergency low barrier shelter in the Flathead Valley. The Flathead Warming Center continues to search for a permanent location with greater bed capacity to provide a long-term solution in our community.

The Board of the Flathead Warming Center has great confidence in Horn’s leadership ability to lead FWC as “We take care of each other in the Flathead.” Follow the FWC at https://flatheadwarmingcenter.org/ or follow us on Facebook at Flathead Warming Center.