Mission builds life-skill

There is a Japanese philosophy that goes something like this: Living, like painting, is a skill.

As community volunteer Kevin Kok led me Monday through Union Gospel Mission's new, 100-bed Women and Children's center in Coeur d'Alene, passing simple but comfortably furnished rooms along hallways painted in warm, earth tones, it struck me: UGM incorporates this philosophy. A hand-up, if you will, to go with the hand-out.

Living is indeed a skill, one acquired from bits and pieces of experiences which provide the tools, like brushes for life's canvas. When those experiences teach the wrong things, when harm such as abuse, extreme poverty, homelessness, and addiction (often together in some combination) pervade life, the skill can't properly develop.

Left without brushes, how can one create a new canvas?

So this city's first long-term (St. Vincent de Paul's shelter is vital, but short-term), nonprofit recovery center is a residence only at minimum. It's home, while recreating life.

For the two-year stay (from rescue to departure; some are shorter) UGM offers in Coeur d'Alene, the women and moms also heal with counseling, guidance, and often a first: self-respect. They take required classes in life skills, budgeting, education, computer and job skills. They have daily chores; there must be exchange to know value. While they work to change their lives, their children can stay in "Robin's nest," the on-site day care.

"Where they can just be a kid again," added children's services director - you guessed it - Robin.

Thus by the time women "graduate" from the full program, they are not only off the streets, away from abusive and addictive situations, and out of the court and corrections system from which many of the referrals come. The 80 percent who make it through are equipped to handle life on a higher grade, with mentors for longer if needed.

They have the living skill.

There is also exchange for the community. UGM's Spokane shelter grew from its inception in 1951 with 65 beds for homeless men, to a six-property collection in Spokane (including a car lot and stores to fund the mission) to help both genders and all ages. In September they expanded to Coeur d'Alene with this center. With 500 homeless people daily just in Kootenai County, some needing emergency and other resources, the need is larger than existing agencies and resources could manage, especially more complex family situations.

Someone noticed Spokane emergency rooms were losing thousands of dollars monthly in unpaid medical bills related to this population. So this center has a burgeoning medical wing for both emergent and non-emergent health care. Partnering with Dirne and a few volunteers (M.D.s and R.N.s, hint: They need more!) they hope to have a provider on staff full time.

"Some of them need to know it's OK to be touched in a healthy way," said the gracious and stylish Kevin Kok, who also faced homelessness 25 years ago. "These women have been disassociated from their bodies."

Kevin isn't the only one who came full circle from needing to giving (she and her husband are also donors). Several among staff and volunteers have similar stories. Most of them credit God with recoveries, as the chapel's artistic cross made of simple construction nails illustrates. UGM is after all a spiritual mission, but while prayer is part of the program no faith is necessary to receive their help.

Money, however, is. Not for services - those are free, but to meet their $750,000 annual budget they could use a $120,000 donation offered by the Murdock Foundation, conditioned upon local matching funds. Knudtsen Chevrolet has started the ball rolling, hoping more businesses will help with tax-deductible gifts.

For the rest of us, even a donation of $12.94 provides a meal and night's shelter. Or bring food. Take a tag from the tree of sharing at the office on Haycraft to help with residents' Christmas gifts or volunteer. For more information call (208) 665-4673.

"If you do good things you will live a wealthy life." - Japanese proverb

Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email her at [email protected].