No Boundaries founder defends program after knife attack at Deluxe Inn

REDDING, Calif. – The founder and director of No Boundaries, a halfway house in downtown Redding, said a knife attack at the Deluxe Inn early Wednesday morning was not a negative reflection on the program.

Christine Cage said 52-year-old Timothy Flanagin had been in therapy for mental health issues since entering the program about two weeks before the stabbing. He had previously lived in a nearby homeless camp.

Cage said if something like this had happened at the homeless camp instead of the halfway house, it could have been much worse.

“Right now these people are on a program so they are monitored 24 hours a day. All of our employees are trained,” Cage said. “However, our staff were adequately trained that evening and were able to protect the entire program and community. It was not extended to the community but remained in an isolated area.”

It happened in a room where Cage said the two men had been arguing for most of the day, and eventually Flanagin stabbed his roommate, who had asked for a cigarette at 2 a.m. She said staff responded quickly, closely followed by Redding police.

“As he suffered from anger issues and mental health issues, he was unsupervised. “If this event had occurred in the camp, it could have been much worse and there would have been loss of life,” Cage continued. “In a controlled environment, there was a lot less access to weapons and things like that.”

No Boundaries has been operating for five years and this is the first act of violence of this magnitude. Cage said it was notable given the clientele.

“We house the formerly incarcerated… We house all criminals. Apart from that, they have a chance to develop in our environment. But I also want to remind the community that I am a mother. I have a daughter and a “son. “I would rather these registrants be in a controlled environment and supervised 24 hours a day than in these camps,” Cage said.

The end result? She said the lack of resources to treat mental health issues is the root cause of Shasta County’s societal challenges.