Meet Brandon

This is Brandon Lodien. He is a cook and housekeeper at the shelter. Random facts about Brandon are that he likes the Oregon Ducks, Strawberries and was run over by a motorboat this summer. (37 staples and 9 stitches.) Brandon says he enjoys the opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives at Samaritan House.

Garage Sale at the Armory

Yes, it's true. I realize that this notice may arrive a bit late for our subscribers, but I wanted to give you the heads up. When you get an old armory building you also get the old army leftover stuff. If you are looking for an old retro type army issue thing, well then his just may be the perfect garage sale for you.
When: Sept 20th from 7am on through until gone (likely 11am)
Where: 1110 2nd Street West, Kalispell (the old US Armory on Meridian Rd.)
Special bonus surprise for the first 10 people who say they heard about it on the blog.
See you there.

Meet Mark

This is Mark. Mark's story is a difficult one. He came to the Samaritan House for help. He suffers from Narcolepsy and Ceteplexy. (I hope I've spelled those correctly.) For Mark it has been difficult to work as most jobs are not flexible enough to allow someone to take intermittent rest times. His disorder led to his losing a job, his driver's license and ultimately homelessness.

Mark says that some of the things he needs are: Big & Tall size shirts and a coat (4X Tall), an affordable apartment and employment that will accomodate his need for rests.

Mark says, "Without the Samaritan House I don't know where I would be."

Today at the Shelter

Today the shelter is full, 20 single men, 8 single women and five families. These are people who are homeless because of domestic violence, mental illness, the high price of rentals in the area, gas prices and the economy.

The Transitional Housing is full, 14 single men and women. The reasons for homelessness listed for these people are mental illness, domestice violence, layed off from work, long hospital stay resulting in eviction and difficulty finding an affordable rental.

Lately, I have been busy writing a federal grant. One freezer broke down and I also turned on the heat boilers as nights are getting cooler.

Fishes and Loaves

Each year something great happens at the shelter that I have to tell you about. The 4-H Livestock Auction at the Flathead County Fair. In the picture you can see cartloads of freshly packaged meat. This year we owe many thanks to: Alamon, 1st National Bank, Jerry and Cynthia Kennedy and Western States Insurance who each purchased a pig and donated it to the shelter. D.A. Davidson / Bob White and 1st National Bank each purchased a lamb and donated it to the shelter. We also owe thanks to Lower Valley Processing Company for donating the processing of the meat. Thank you for helping to keep the freezers full and helping us feed the homeless in the Flathead Valley.

Meet Wendy

This is Wendy Bauer, she is a PATH worker, Adult Case Manager, Homeless Resource person for Western Montana Mental Health here in Kalispell. I thought you might like to meet her because she does so much for the homeless people of the Flathead Valley.
Wendy's caseload is full of people in their greatest time of crisis. She helps them find housing, food, counseling, apply for other types of benefits that might help and get to and from important meetings like doctors and therapists appointments.
Wendy says that she enjoys the sense of accomplishment she gets from helping someone through their crisis. How great is that?