Christmas Edition 2015 A Ray of Hope News Letter

From The Desk Of Peggy

In the heart of your mission statement and motto there have been many people that felt hopeless find a new

life and the purpose God had for them in living at A Ray of Hope home. And beyond that you have keep fam-

ilies with children in their homes and renew their hope to have a safe place to raise their Children.

A Ray of Hope shall provide a safe harbor for those

in the community with nowhere else to turn.

It will provide those who seek help not only

With food, clothing and shelter; but with knowledge and

a avenue to develop competency in meeting life’s financial, emotional , family and Legal

rehabilitation challenges,

AROH Motto

Offer a “hand up”, rather than a “hand out”

in order to build self-respect and dignity

We are so grateful to all the wonderful people who donate time and resources so we can serve and do the

work that we embrace and love doing

Thank you for being a stakeholder in others recovery Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thank you for your gifts to AROH

Merry Christmas Happy New Year

Page 2 A Ray o f Hope News Letter

From the Desk of Melenie Haidys

A Ray of Hope a place for people who have

slipped through the cracks. What an awesome ideal!

It is so encouraging to witness so many blessings on

a daily basis. Our shelter on 5th avenue is almost

completely guest run. We encourage our residents to

use their God given talents to help produce a healing

atmosphere. They are given and explained a set of

guidelines on their entry date based off of the 10

commandments, and it’s amazing how they flourish.

From planning and cooking meals, keeping the

house neat and tidy, to helping our wonderful Hope

Thrift Supervisor Miss Lynn with maintaining the

store and pickups and deliveries. It may be interest-

ing to know as well that quite often it is a guest of

the shelter that is answering the phones here in the

office and helping other families in need with their

personal crisis. Who better to empathize with people

in need than those who have personally gone

through similar experiences? It warms my heart to

see them welcome homeless individuals into the

house for a hot meal or a shower. Together we share

personal triumphs and console each other through

personal struggles. The family dynamic in the house

is surreal. I am so blessed I get to witness and feel

the Holy Spirit in action on a daily basis.

LETTERS

The Ray of Hope has been the Biggest Blessing in

my life, they have been there to help me in restoring

my self-worth and dignity in myself and help me

remember I AM important in this world. I want o

give a sincere thanks to Bob, Peggy, Melenie, Bill,

and Lynn who have become a very big, important,

and very positive Role Models in MY life and have

become family to me. I am very grateful and appre-

ciative of A Ray of Hope and it has truly helped me

to keep my Faith and offered a hand up, not a hand

out.

Sincerely,

Cody Lindahl

I came to A Ray of Hope from the hospital; I

had never been unemployed, much less homeless

and had medical issues to boot. To say I was feeling

sorry for myself was a definite understatement. I

was given a few days to adjust, and then Melenie

was at my door! Over the next week she and I talked

and my attitude and outlook improved. What Mele-

nie and Bill do and deal with says more about them

than written words can ever do. Never the less, I

thank them and will keep them and A Ray of Hope

House in my prayers.

Thank you and God Bless,

Theresa Harris-Powell

Hi Peggy, this is Debbie Bosley. I want to reach out

to you to tell you that I, once again, am so thankful

for the outreach, love and care the Ray of Hope is

showing Cody, as you did his mom. He's such a

good kid with a loving heart. He and his brothers

have had a rough road as you know, he has such a

strong will and desire to succeed and be a productive

citizen. His confidence has boosted since being

there, he really enjoys the staff and the residents

there, he says "it feels like family". That says vol-

umes coming from a 19 year old. Thank you to you

and the staff for living and showing Christ's love to

those in need. You, Bob and the Ray are a blessing

Page 3 A Ray o f Hope News Letter

LETTERS

Dear Peggy, I have been meaning to write to you to

let you know some of the recent changes I have no-

ticed at the Ray of Hope residence in Kalispell. As

you know, getting the guests grouped together, on

time, and organized for the TB testing has been diffi-

cult in the past. Between my busy schedule and theirs,

communication has been no easy task. The new assis-

tant director, and past resident, Melanie, has really

stepped up to the challenge. She has been so helpful

writing clear concise message boards to the guests, as

well as reminding them to get tested. She seems to run

a “tight ship”, but has a soft heart. She has been very

professional. I have noticed that the house seems to be

more organized and jobs are being delegated and ac-

complished. The place is looking nice for the holi-

days. I also want to put in a kudo for Bill who is al-

ways a blessing of encouragement to me as well as the

guests with his smile and positive attitude.

Sincerely, Kathleen Anderson,BSN,RN

When I first started at “Ray of Hope”, I really

didn’t know what to expect. I have worked at cor-

rectional facilities and I have also worked with

refugees. It has been my experience that a person

can “get lost in the shuffle” at an institution, and I

expected to see a similar situation at AROH. I have been working with “AROH” for about a

year now. I must admit that I was pleasantly sur-

prised by the professional manner in which they

conduct daily operations at the shelter. But what

really struck me was the empathy shown to those

staying at the shelter. AROH emphasizes their

motto; “A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out”. AROH is a working house, ie…” guests” help

to maintain the house. I feel that this policy helps

to build self-esteem and is conducive to the build-

ing of self-worth. This policy also helps the

guests by allowing them to help each other and

this in turn builds positive relationships. By fos-

tering the growth of symbiotic relationships with

other human beings, the guests become better

prepared for life after they transition to a self-

sufficient relationship. While being pleasantly surprised at the ROH, I

must say that a corresponding amount of dismay

occurred when I realized how great the need is in

the Flathead Valley. I work in the office at ROH

and I must get at least 10 calls or visits a day

from those in need asking for help. The forms of

help required vary from individual to individual,

of course. But some things remain constant. The tears in a young mother’s eyes when she

can’t make the rent. The fear in the eyes of an

elderly person who is afraid that they will have to

spend a cold winters night sleeping on the streets.

The confused young man who hasn’t eaten in a

day or two and who needs a coat. I see these things on a daily basis and it is im-

possible not to be human and not be touched by

these things. All that I can say is “Thank God for

the ROH”. This valley has a terrific need for plac-

es like AROH and A Ray Of Hope is needed in

the valley. Sincerely Yours, Kraig Eby.

Dear A Ray of Hope, Thank you for helping me and my

family in our time of need, we are very thankful for this

blessing. When we felt we had nowhere left to turn your

family at A Ray of Hope was like a light in the dark. I am

the only one working in our family, while I am proud of

this it can also be very stressful supporting the three of us

on our own. Now I can enjoy the time I have with them

stress free. We will forever be grateful, thank you!!!

Gonzalez Family

Page 4 A Ray o f Hope News Letter

A Ray of Hope Primary Purpose

A Ray of Hope’s primary purpose is to serve those with nowhere else to go, we at A Ray of Hope find ourselves on the front lines of the fight against addiction and family homelessness. Each day we strive to meet Flathead communities’ needs and work diligently to eliminate these issues in the Valley.

To help meet the need of family homelessness A Ray of Hope is starting work on a women and children’s homeless facility which will house up to 25 women and children nightly and help these families thrive.

There is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control. We cannot stop earthquakes, we cannot prevent

droughts, and we cannot prevent all conflict, but when we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then

we can help. -Jan Schakowsky

Too break the cycle of homelessness.

A few of the services we provide free of charge are:

Provide education, counselling and job training while self-documenting hours worked to acquire job skills and good

work ethics.

Provide pregnant women a way off the streets in a safe shelter until they can be provided a safe home.

Provide a Mountain Retreat offered at no cost to those coming off drugs and alcohol to spend time in an intense 12

step program.

Provide funding for women with children to pay rent and utility bills throughout the year, to prevent them from be-

coming homeless.

A thrift store to provide needed clothing and house hold items for people who have lost everything sometimes due to

their own poor choices, or to fire and other issues they had no control over.

Provide safe shelter, meals and showers to an average of 20 people a day.

Provide bus and train fair to people to help them get back to family members that can give them a hand up.

Provide clothes to individuals in need of professional or specific items for job interviews, to ensure they are looking

their best.

Provide education, counselling and job training while self-documenting hours worked to acquire job skills and good

work ethics.

Provide pregnant women a way off the streets in a safe shelter until they can be provided a safe home.

Provide a Mountain Retreat offered at no cost to those coming off drugs and alcohol to spend time in an intense 12

step program.

Provide funding for women with children to pay rent and utility bills throughout the year, to prevent them from be-

coming homeless.

A thrift store to provide needed clothing and house hold items for people who have lost everything sometimes due to

their own poor choices, or to fire and other issues they had no control over.

Provide safe shelter, meals and showers to an average of 20 people a day.

Provide bus and train fair to people to help them get back to family members that can give them a hand up.

Provide clothes to individuals in need of professional or specific items for job interviews, to ensure they are looking

their best.

Provide people who come in filled with body lice the medication needed to destroy the lice. We provide them

with clean clothes and a clean bed helping to restore their self-esteem.

Provide people discharged from the hospital with no place to go to heal, a safe place to recover.

Page 5 A Ray o f Hope News Letter

Letters Dear A Ray of Hope,

I want to thank you for the Adopt a Family

program, without it my children probably would-

n't have any gifts to open. To know there is a fam-

ily who wants to adopt mine and help my family

through this struggling time, is beyond any thanks

I can give. The Lord does work through others to

reach many, and this program goes to show that

God is not dead! This program means so much to

me! Being able to see the joy in my children's

eyes makes my heart melt and to know YOU

helped me makes me cry of happiness. I plan to

Adopt a Family in the near future to pay my re-

spect forward. Saying Thank You does not show

my appreciation. God Bless all of the families

who are struggling like mine, and bless the fami-

lies who are lending a helping hand. You are all

so wonderful for what you do. I appreciate you in

so many ways it's so hard to put into words!!

Again, I want to thank you from the bottom of my

Dear A Ray of Hope,

You are living proof that God answers

prayers. I didn’t know what to do when I got

out of the hospital. I found a job but my first

paycheck wasn’t nearly enough to cover even

the necessities. I was afraid that my 2 year old

daughter and I were going to go without.

I prayed to God asking for help and A Ray

of Hope came to mind. I asked for assistance

and you all helped me pay my necessary bills

and even offered to help make Christmas a

reality for me and my daughter. I am forever

grateful for your help all the wonderful caring

people who run your organization.

I would encourage everyone to donate to

A Ray of Hope because they truly do help

those in need. Thank you for all you do.

God Bless

Jessica McCormick

Jessica McCormick

A Hand Up Not A Hand Out

Non-Profit

US Postage Paid

Kalispell MT

Permit # 125

Please send donations to PO Box 5407, Kalispell MT 59903

WE have good workers that need a Hand up with Work

Call 755-4673

Visit us at http://arayofhopemontana.com/

A Ray of Hope

PO Box 5407

Kalispell MT 59901

Return Service Requested

Phone 406 755 4673

Thrift Store

105 6th Av West Kalispell MT 59901 PH 406 260 4184

Shelter

46 5th Av West Kalispell MT 59901 PH 406 755 4673

«AddressBlock»

MISSION STATE-

MENT

A Ray of Hope shall

provide a safe harbor

for those in the com-

munity with nowhere

else to turn. It will

provide those who

seek help not only

with food, clothing

and shelter, but also

with knowledge and a

avenue to develop

competency in

meeting life’s

financial, emotional,

family, and legal

rehabilitation

challenges.

Helmville

2340 Hope RD 406 260 8084