The (Wrong) Idea About Help

With less than a month until Project Homeless Connect unfurls and unfolds its tents, there is a stereotype that I would like to dispel before we even get started. Often, anytime the notion of help is mentioned, there can be an unspoken air of patronization or even condescension. A person only needs help if they are at a disadvantage. And they are at a disadvantage because they put themselves in a bad situation. And every bad situation is a result of a poor choice. And poor choices reflect a lack of ethics and morality. This type of faulty logic is rarely verbalized but it can still be the platform from which we construct our beliefs and ideas about others.

I think one of the most important results that stems from PHC is that this stereotype can be dismantled. Those in the position of being the helpers get to see, firsthand, that just because a person needs a hand does not mean the person receiving help is any less of a person. Our goal at PHC is to do more than help people find the tangible services they need to possibly move on in a beneficial direction. We want to see connections made between the various clients and service providers. Real action taking place in real time under the sunny skies of the Flathead Valley.

But, bumper sticker slogans aside, we also want to help people rediscover their dignity and self worth. This event is for anyone who is currently homeless or in danger of becoming homeless. There is no judgement or malice, and our volunteers help out because they understand that until a person can begin to see they have value, it doesn't really matter how many opportunities they are given. If a person cannot fathom they deserve to be treated with respect, then any service allotted to them simply slaps a Bandaid on a gaping wound. We, as a community, host PHC because we believe the people of the Valley are worth it.

So, as we continue to roll out the pertinent information concerning PHC, please stand with us as we seek to help the entire community by partnering with our brothers and sisters who will attend this event.