Peggy Christensen is taking another leap of faith with A Ray of Hope, this time with plans to build a shelter for women and children in Kalispell.

The nonprofit Christian ministry already operates a thrift store in the former Flathead Food Bank building in Kalispell and a men’s shelter in the same area. Now Christensen has an opportunity to build a shelter for women and children at 105 Fifth Ave. W. near A Ray of Hope’s other facilities.

The Kalispell Planning Board will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday to consider a conditional-use permit needed to build the shelter for up to 15 women and children. An existing dilapidated home on the site would be demolished to make way for the new structure.

“It’s really been a gift,” Christensen said about the property that’s so close to the organization’s other facility. “I had prayed for that house and all of a sudden a lady decided to sell it.”

An anonymous donor purchased the house for A Ray of Hope. Initially Christensen thought the house could be restored, but it was beyond repair.

Most of the time A Ray of Hope works to keep women and children in their own homes, she said, but situations arise when shelter is needed. In some cases Christensen works with the Abbie Shelter, a shelter for abused women, but not all women meet the “abuse” criteria yet need a place to stay temporarily for any number of reasons, the least of which is poverty.

If the conditional-use permit ultimately is granted by the Kalispell City Council, which has the final decision, A Ray of Hope will spring into fundraising mode.

“We hope this can be an old-fashioned house-raising,” Christensen said. “We have some money saved, and I’ve been amazed at the number of people who have called to offer help: a carpenter, plumber, help with wiring, just amazing stuff.”

She anticipates breaking ground a year from now, but the project could get started sooner.

“The good news is we’ve gained enough favor in the community” to make this happen, Christensen said. “The thrift store has been a blessing. It’s helped us bring in funding” and allows shelter residents to learn office and retail skills.

Christensen and her husband, Bob, have been helping people down on their luck for decades. They operated a lay ministry for the homeless for many years before starting a thrift store in 1999.

The overriding goal of the ministry has been to give the homeless a chance to get on their feet financially. Through the years Christensen and other volunteers have taught classes and offered counseling on how to budget household finances.

When people show up at A Ray of Hope’s doorstep, they often have nowhere else to turn. They’re desperate.

Volunteers at A Ray of Hope have worked miracles for many people in finding shelter for them and getting them back on their feet. Christensen said it doesn’t always take a lot of money to stabilize people enough to keep them in their housing.

One mortgage payment may stop foreclosure or a set of tires may save a job. In other cases, people just need to learn to live within their means. 

“Some people in trouble don’t know how to budget their money,” she said. “We have a really good budget counselor.”

The counselor and Christensen go to work cutting down their spending and talking to their creditors. Other volunteers may teach them how to cook from scratch, cutting their food expenses by half or more. 

A Ray of Hope offers a wide variety of services that can include rent subsidy and help with managing food stamps and other income until a person is able to achieve financial independence. Sometimes the process involves chemical dependency treatment or other intervention. Sometimes it’s giving a person a haircut and the proper clothes to be able to go out and find a job. Sometimes it’s helping people get their General Educational Development certification.

Those who are helped by A Ray of Hope are encouraged to work at the thrift store or help out in some way to pay it forward for the assistance they receive.

Christensen relies on prayer, her network of churches, community organizations and good-hearted individuals to keep A Ray of Hope going.

“We want people to see they can get help, and they can repay it by helping with some part of the ministry,” she said. “We want to be good stewards with what God gives us.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.