Great Expectations

Volunteers are crucial to the daily operation of Samaritan House. Recently, a young lady 16 years of age helped us out and these are her words.


“When my aunt asked me to visit her work at the Kalispell Samaritan House, I was a little apprehensive. It was the idea of a new place, with people I don't know, in a situation that I wasn't sure about. But, seeing that my aunt loved her work, I decided to go. When I first arrived at Samaritan House, I was pleased to find how clean it was. Now, admittedly, my experience with homeless shelters is extremely limited. But, Kalispell Samaritan House put the one other shelter I had seen to shame. It's large and well lit and feels welcoming.


Right away I got to meet some very friendly people. After that I warmed right up to this new place. I was my aunt's shadow for a bit as I got to look around and meet new people. As far as residents went, I hadn't been sure what to expect. In the end, I found that everyone I met was pleasant and polite. It made me happy to see several small families and that they had a nice place to stay. I had the privilege of serving the residents their dinner, goulash (Though, really, I'd call it noodles in meat sauce, the goulash I know is nasty). I was surprised to find how kind and polite they were when I served them. Not that I expected them to be drunken bums who flipped the bird, but people are so seldom polite these days about saying simple things like "please" and "thank you." Especially to people who serve food. Seriously, don't tick off the people who prepare your food.

Anyway, I loved getting to experience the different senses of humor that everyone had. I was laughing out loud seeing people tease my aunt, or lament that that day was her last working at Samaritan House. After dinner, dessert was served and there were calls of, "Awesome movie at 7:00 sharp!" And I helped clean up. As I went to get a vacuum for a man needing to do his chores, he began to tell me a story. He told me where he had worked before, and how good the pay was. Not an exciting story, really, but I was happy to hear it. That story got me thinking, everyone living in the Samaritan House had a story to tell. They probably weren't all bunnies, and love, and unicorns, but life had come along and kind of slapped them in the face.

I could see residents really getting on their feet again, there were ads asking for paid help, and people expressing interest in them. There were rooms for rent for people finally getting paid enough to afford it. I left a short time later, happy with my experience at Samaritan House. The staff and residents were very kind, the facility was nice, I got to help people, and I got to see a positive place that people could go for help.

May the Kalispell Samaritan House Live Long and Prosper.