Encouraging

Received this encouraging little note with a donation:

Greetings -

Six and a half years ago Samaritan House helped our daughter and three grandchildren into an apartment in Kalispell. Now our daughter is in her second year in a teaching position here in Oregon; granddaughter and her husband are in post graduate study at Church Seminary and two grandsons are in college. Thanks for being there for them when they were in need. We hope that this will help you assist others who are now in need.

Christmas at Samaritan House

Sometimes the holidays can be a tough time for people at the Samaritan House with no where to call home or maybe no one to share it with. This is a great time at the shelter, food, volunteers and presents for everyone making for a festive time despite difficult circumstances.

Lucky

Photo by Ruthie Krager

The years show on his face. His smile is only noticed with a second look. His bed and likely all his belongings are there over his shoulder. Trust me when I say that he's told us how grateful he is to be there. Usually every bed is full like this every night so he is one of the lucky ones.
Some don't get in and mornings like last Tuesday are why this is serious.

This has been an amazing year for the Samaritan House. We opened a new building, this came with repairs unforseen. The economic downturn not only affected our budget but it brought a whole wave of people needing our help. Truth is, we are coming in to the end of the year in the red but fully confident that we've maintained hospitality to the least of these.
One great way to help is coming Friday, December 18th. Fresh Life Radio is presenting a Christmas movie double feature in Fresh Life Church's newly opened Liberty Theater. At 5 pm at the Liberty Theater there will be a showing of Veggie Tales Saint Nicholas: A Tale of Christmas Giving and at 7 pm It's A Wonderful Life. It is a paper goods drive for the Samaritan House to offset the shelter expense of paper goods i.e. TP, paper towels, napkins etc. Admission to the movies is a donation of a paper goods item.
Several reasons to go... to support the shelter, your curiosity about the historic Liberty Theater, the chance to see a great classic film on the big screen again or simply your love for talking vegetables.

Thanksgiving Day Recap

It was great fun and hard work. We fed a lot of people and kept a community tradition going. We fed around 640 people and delivered 347 meals. Video coverage by KAJ-TV here.

Here are a few pictures of the Sykes Thanksgiving Day Dinner:

Planning to Address Montana's Homelessness

Sitting in this meeting trying to address Montana's homelessness issue, it's a planning session. The federal grant source has let us all know that the grant that they previously administered will be changing significantly. The analogy that is being used is that the ground underneath our feet has just shifted.
Now, I've only had the opportunity to be in a couple earthquakes, where I live in Montana there aren't many big earthquakes. When I did experience an earthquake I remember thinking it was odd and looking for something that was solid and unmoving to orient myself to.
The difference here is that we are all moving through this earthquake together, only able to move forward addressing Montana's homelessness together. Renaming previous committees, involving other groups and organizations, setting new schedules, processes and structure. People are asking, "What are our constants? What is not changing? What will still exist after the dust settles?"
Carmen Gonzalez, Team Lead for Projects for Asssistance in Transition from Homelessness, MHC - Billings, had this to say about this process, "Yesterday and today's meetings reflect the strength, courage, dedication and determination of Montana's efforts to meet, share and brainstorm in order to impact lives. The power that comes with collaboration and carries on the Tradition of Compassion."
Hank Hudson, Economic Security Branch Manager, DPHHS, summarized this process by saying, "Reducing and ending homelessness is a vision that brings Montana communities together. Keeping the best parts of the Continuum of Care for Homelessness process alive and getting positioned for the future brings the best qualities of these dedicated programs to the forefront."
We are remaining focused on what is constant, sticking together and learning about the shifting nature of addressing homelessness. This process reflects Samaritan House's committment to serving the homeless of the Falthead Valley and Montana's committment to homeless Montanans.

Sykes Thanksgiving Day Dinner

Photo by Eric Melzer

Doug and Judy Wise began the Sykes Thanksgiving Day Dinner in 1982 as a way to offer a free Thanksgiving meal for the people of Kalispell. It was always very well attended, estimates are that nearly 1,100 meals were served last year.
Sykes Restaurant and Grocery Store is closed this year so we will be hosting the festivities at the Samaritan House Administrative Building, the former armory on Meridian Rd.

Sykes Thanksgiving Day Dinner
1110 2nd Street West
Kalispell, MT 59901

November 26th, 2009
11 am - 2 pm

For meal delivery call 406-257-4357
To volunteer call Naomi at 406-752-7337

4-H Livestock Auction

There are some great folks who helped Samaritan House by purchasing an animal through the 4-H Livestock Auction that was held at the Flathead County Fair in August.
They are:
Judy Sommers & Western States Insurance
Jerry & Cynthia Kennedy
Jay & Tina Stetson - Water Well Services
Frank & Peg Gebhardt - Alamon
Holly Walsh & Western States Insurance
Bob White & D.A. Davidson

Phil Olson and Rick Winkowitsch also donated beef directly from their ranch in Cut Bank, Montana.

Annually, the Samaritan House serves nearly 24,000 meals in the shelter kitchen. This will give us a good head start towards being able to do this. Thank you again.