COEUR d'ALENE - The society of St. Vincent de Paul, the largest social service organization for the homeless and low income citizens in North Idaho, has launched a $1 million capital campaign, the first in the organization's history.

The funds will be used to complete four facilities projects the charitable organization's board and staff have determined are needed to help them meet the increasing needs of the homeless and low-income population of the region.

Purchasing the HELP (Helping Empower Local People) Center property, the old city library building at 201 E. Harrison Ave., is at the top of the list. Currently leased from the city of Coeur d'Alene, the center houses 19 independent nonprofit organizations that provide two dozen social services and serves as a "one stop" centralized location for those in need to access multiple services.

Many of the 75-100 people who stop in at the center each day require multiple services but don't have transportation to go access them, said St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho board member John Bruning, who is chairing the capital campaign.

"Here, they only have to walk across the room," he said.

When the center opened in 2009 it was also heralded as a way for the area's nonprofits to share their operating costs and be able to spend more on helping people. By purchasing the HELP Center building, St. Vincent de Paul will be able to feed, house and clothe more people because it will no longer have to make monthly $1,685 lease payments to the city.

The estimated cost to purchase the building is $585,000, based on an unofficial appraisal, Bruning said. The city will have to declare the building surplus property and sell it at auction, and St. Vincent de Paul will have to bid for it, along with any other interested parties.

The HELP Center building is near many of St. Vincent de Paul's other facilities, including some of its shelters, its transitional housing facility, clothing warehouse and thrift store, making it the ideal location for the center, Bruning said.

The No. 2 priority that will be funded by the capital campaign will take place at the Coeur d'Alene thrift store that sells donated clothes, furniture and other household items.

The store, and all of St. Vincent de Paul of North Idaho's shelters, services and housing projects, grew out of a "clothes closet" created in 1946 by parishioners at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Coeur d'Alene, Bruning said.

They plan to enclose the outside south end of the Coeur d'Alene thrift store, a large area now fenced in, at an estimated cost of $220,000.

"We can gain another 8,000 feet of floor space and wall space if we put a roof over it," Bruning said.

Over at the Community Dining Hall, Bruning said they plan to expand the small building, adding more room for tables and a partitioned off area that can serve as a warming center.

The dining room serves a hot meal every Monday through Friday from 5-6:30 p.m.

"We're just busting at the seams," said Jessica Lewis, the dining hall manager.

They're currently averaging 40 meals per day, in a room that seats just 18.

Lewis said there are always people waiting in line outside to come indoors and eat, and it becomes a problem when the weather is bad.

"You've got families with kids waiting out there in the rain and the snow. It gets heart-wrenching at times," Lewis said.

With a little help, Lewis cooks and prepares the large quantities of balanced, nutritional foods each day using a standard household oven and stovetop, so a commercial kitchen area will also be added on as part of the capital project.

The capital campaign funds will also be used to add a multipurpose room onto St. Vincent de Paul's transitional housing facility. The room will serve primarily as a place for children living at the facility to spread out and play.

The building's 16 housing units are 300 square feet each and provide little space for kids to move around, and a small indoor recreation area isn't large enough to accommodate all the children living at the facility, sometimes as many as 40.

"It's a problem, especially when it rains," Bruning said.

More than $100,000 has already been pledged or donated for the campaign. They are seeking in-kind donations - construction labor, building materials, kitchen equipment, flooring and more - as well as monetary pledges and donations.

Tours are offered for those interested in learning more about St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho. Contact Barbara Smalley, development director, 416-4716 or [email protected], for more information.

By the numbers

St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho HELP Center

First three months of 2013

2,548 visitors received services

1,166 used computers to search for jobs

479 made phone calls

441 accessed homeless prevention services

217 received rental assistance

162 received utility assistance

85 received help paying for prescriptions

56 left with food

50 were clothed

37 accessed legal help