The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board (TGB) met with Sevenwinds Casino executives on Thursday, Feb. 20, in response to two tragic deaths as a result of overdoses at the casino lodge. The occupants of the rooms were granted complimentary rooms by the TGB in response to the chronic homelessness problem that persists on the reservation.
The meeting between TGB and casino executives discussed options and solutions to deal with the problem of complimentary rooms. Currently, the rooms involved are closed until deemed safe. The TGB is moving forward with creating a men’s shelter on the reservation at the former Oakwood Haven among other ideas for shelters outside of the casino lodge.
TGB members Gary “Little Guy” Clause and Glenda Barber both state in response to the granting of complimentary rooms, they want to help tribal members who are in need, especially when it’s freezing outside. The persons who were given rooms were members who had nowhere to stay and were instructed not to have anyone else in the room, no drug use and that casino security would inform TGB if they broke any rules.
In addition to these rules, any persons granted complimentary rooms under these circumstances will also be prohibited from gambling in the casino and they will be monitored closely by casino security and surveillance.
“These are our People and our relatives we're talking about. I've had people in my family that needed help as I'm sure many of you have,” stated Barber. “There is a huge homeless problem here at LCO and we try to have them stay with family first but a lot of people can't take them in due to Housing or HUD rules.”