Sparrow’s Nest of Northwest Montana is spreading its wings this year with plans to open its first shelter for homeless teens this winter.

The house at 200 Colorado Avenue in Whitefish is owned by St. Peter Lutheran Church and was formerly used as a parsonage. The house can shelter five homeless teenagers.

“It’s turnkey,” Sparrow’s Nest chairwoman Marcia Bumke said about the Whitefish house. “It’s lovely and large.”

Opening the Whitefish youth shelter will depend on Whitefish City Council approval at a Dec. 7 meeting. The Whitefish Planning Board unanimously approved a type 1 residential facility conditional use permit for the nonprofit Nov. 19. It would be a four-year agreement.

In Kalispell, Sparrow’s Nest also has plans readied to renovate a former church building at 204 Seventh Ave. W., into a shelter to house approximately eight homeless teens.

The building, donated by Brian and Victoria Tanko of Kalispell in fall 2014, was recently deeded to Sparrow’s Nest.

“It’s official,” Sparrow’s Nest vice chairwoman Linda Kaps said.

A variety of contractors and suppliers have already pledged to donate labor and materials and renovations could begin by the spring, Bumke said.

A safe place to sleep is the missing link in ensuring basic needs are met, Bumke said.

“I mean the schools are great; the Heart Locker is great. You know they can get breakfast and lunch there, clothing and all that type of thing, but still where are they going to be at night? Are they going to be in a car, or truck, or abandoned building, or ‘couch surfing?’ You know, it’s a safety issue,” Bumke said. “The whole thing is about safety for the kids. That’s why we’re doing this.”

Sparrow’s Nest is a Kalispell-based nonprofit begun as a grassroots effort in 2013 by a group of concerned high school parents who learned the extent of student homelessness after Kalispell Public Schools hired a homeless liaison in February 2013.

Between 268 and 347 students attending schools in the Flathead Valley were identified as homeless in the 2013-14 school year, according to the Montana Office of Public Instruction.

Roughly 116 of those students were enrolled in ninth through 12th grade — a target group Sparrow’s Nest is hoping to reach.

Homelessness is defined as lacking a fixed, regular or adequate nighttime residence, according to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Concerns were heightened throughout the community when people learned there are few options for sheltering homeless youth under 18 in the Flathead Valley.

Shelters such as the Samaritan House only serve children under 18 when accompanied by an adult. While Flathead Youth Home is able to shelter teens, it has just a couple of open beds for homeless youths seeking temporary shelter.

Sparrow’s Nest is also interviewing prospective candidates to serve as executive director of the nonprofit. The goal is to have someone in place by January. Up to this point, the nonprofit has operated with volunteers.

“Part of what has taken us so long is we’ve had to learn as we go, but we have been careful, methodical, we are trying to be as safe and legal as we can possibly can,” Kaps said. “We don’t want to make any mistakes. It’s very, very hard not to rush into it headlong.”

Currently Sparrow’s Nest has $200,000 in the bank for funding its mission.

On Dec. 12, the nonprofit will again be fundraising at “12/12: When the Night Comes,” a fundraiser and awareness campaign where participants sleep outside in tents or cars to experience the realities homeless teenagers face.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. Dec. 12 and conclude at 7 a.m. Dec. 13. Participants will sleep out at the Gateway Community Center parking lot, 1203 U.S. 2 W., Kalispell. A letter that Sparrow’s Nest sends out to prospective participants summarizes the experience:

“We will only experience one dimension of homelessness for one night. We will not experience the uncertainty of where we will sleep tomorrow, feelings of insecurity and lack of safety that our homeless high school students endure day after day.”

Last year 12 people slept out at the event, which brought in $40,000 in sponsorships and donations, surpassing the nonprofit’s $12,000 goal. This year organizers hope to repeat the success.

“People are so generous,” Bumke said.

People who wish to donate but not necessarily sleep out at the event may sponsor participants. A suggested amount for each participant to raise is $1,000.

To participate or make a donation, call 309-5196 or email sparrowsnestnwmt@gmail.com.

Donations may also be mailed to Sparrow’s Nest, P.O. Box 8384. Kalispell, MT, 59904. Donors may also give online from Nov. 30 through Dec. 13 at www.unitedwaycares.org. United Way currently serves as the nonprofit’s fiscal agent.

What does it finally mean to reach this point?

“What it means is we have to work really hard in raising all the money so we can do all these things for these kiddos and that’s why our 12/12 is our signature event,” Kaps said.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.