Otte-Coleman - City Magazine

homelessness in Bismarck-Mandan.” The planning started from
scratch, but modeled the U.S. Interagency, National Homeless
Connect, which started in Calif. More than 200 events have
been held nationwide.
The goal of the event was to pull agencies together and pool
resources, so they could provide a one-stop-shop for guests to
access all services and become educated on what is available to
them in our community.
On Sept. 2, 2009, around 70 volunteers joined together at
the Bismarck Amvets to provide: haircuts, housing applications,
meals, health screenings, food pantry items, sleeping bags
and blankets and hygiene products. Free transportation
was provided by UTTC to help those in need get a driver’s
license, birth certificate or ID card that may be needed for job
applications, veteran services and more.
On that day alone, volunteers impacted 476 lives, 78 percent
of which had never participated in something like this before.
Their goal was to educate and empower those who are homeless
and those who have a low income to ultimately prevent
homelessness.
Wes Engbrecht, a volunteer with the Optimist Club, enjoyed
being a part of the extremely well run event. “I volunteer with
our church,” said Engbrecht. "We serve dinners on Tuesday
night for Riverside Harvest, and I recognized a lot of the people
that participated. It made me realize that there’s a community
out there that needs our help more than once a year.”
The successful event has come and gone as fast as the
summer in N.D. The ladies are finishing their thank-you notes,
and then it’s time to gear up for National Hunger and Homeless
Awareness week Nov. 15-21. They’ll start planning next year’s
Project Homeless Connect after Christmas. In the mean time,
the ladies will keep doing what they do best–helping those
enduring a difficult time find a meal, haircut, shower, roof and a
hug!
For more information at www.missourivalleyhomeless.org.
Photo (L to R): Jaime Fox, single point of entry coordinator, Ruth Meiers
Hospitality House; Kristina Kalenze, administrative assistant, Missouri
Valley Coalition for Homeless People, Inc./ Job Service of N.D. Summer
Work Intern Program; Ashlie Bieber, social worker, Ruth Meiers Hospitality
House; Tina Grumbo, executive director, Missouri Valley Coalition for
Homeless People, Inc.; Carrie Transgrud, shelter coordinator, Community
Action Program Region VII, Inc.
Nicole Morrison-Mathern is assistant director of the Harold
Schafer Emerging Leaders Academy at the University of
Mary, as well as the co-owner of the 100% women-owned
businesses, Moxe In Action, LLC, Entertainment Resources,
and URL (U Rock Lately) Radio.
November 2009 17