Churches United in Ministry

CSS students, professors helping 'open minds to art &
hearts to each other' at CHUM's Drop-In Center
College of St. Scholastica Professors Ron Berkeland and Carolyn Dorfman have logged seven years helping their occupational therapy students "dispel
stereotypes" through weekly visits to CHUM's Drop-In Center to conduct arts and crafts activities. On a recent Monday two of their students, John Radzak and
Amy Tiburzi, helped three-year-old Chauncey and his mom Laura Morrison paint holiday ornaments while Dorfman joined T-Hawk Warrior, Al Jones and Wayne
Koch on beading projects.

"I never had experiences with people in poverty before coming here," Tiburzi said. The CSS senior from Hibbing added, "I expected to feel a bit threatened, but I
wasn't at all. People have their share of problems, but they are still people just like me. This experience has given me lots of insights, and I've been thinking
about working with low-income people as part of my career. Sometimes I don't want to come for two hours because I could study, but then I get here and enjoy
myself. I'm sad that I won't be back here next semester because I will have to volunteer in a different setting."

Radzak, who is from Silver Bay, noted that he had only a general awareness of CHUM and the people it serves through newspaper articles. He expected that
socioeconomic and mental health issues would have some effect on Drop-In Center guests but has discovered "folks aren't as different as I figured. People here
have plenty of things they can teach me. . .and everyone has their own story. I didn't have a lot of experiences with different sorts of people so it have been very
good for me to hang out and talk with folks."

Morrison regularly brings her son Chauncey and his one-year-old sister Mylia to the arts and crafts activity. She said her son receives valuable exposure to art
in a very patient and encouraging manner from the students and their professors. "It brings my family closer together and it's fun," Morrison added.

Koch said the gathering offers a valuable alternative to watching TV and hanging out. "I enjoy coming here," he said. "It gives me some quality time instead of
sitting around. What I accomplish and what I don't accomplish are both just as important."

Dorfman said she has had a long-term interest in working with CHUM's Homeless Shelter and Drop-In Center, approaching Stabilization Services Director Kim
Randolph and Executive Director Jim Soderberg seven years ago with an offer to conduct group activities with an occupational therapy focus. The idea of a craft
group quickly rose to the top of a list of five options and has been going strong ever since. Dorfman added that CHUM's growing emphasis on employability and
employment may result in developing a work skills group.

During the fall semester students come on a volunteer basis and there is a lot of latitude in the types of activities. Dorfman said she and Berkeland come with
the students to lend support and direction in the informal environment. Students come during the spring semester for field work experience as part of a mental
health class with a particular focus on how socioeconomic factors influence mental health. Berkeland and Dorfman assign these students teaching projects
around specific craft activities.

"Some of these folks could become our students' clients," Dorfman said. "It's important to have exposure to people different from themselves and to learn how
people of different socioeconomic levels, backgrounds, and races are different yet the same. . .sometimes I'm also tired before I come here each week, yet I
always get something from the experience. I feel very accepted and have made some good friendships."

Drop-In Center regular LeRoy Tolan has been involved with the crafts group since its inception. "Everyone benefits, so it's a very good give-and-take situation,"
Tolan said. "The activities not only open our minds to art but they also open our hearts to each other."

CHUM Drop-In Center and Nurse Clinic provide essential
intangibles of care to improve quality of life
When "John" died earlier this year from heart problems, a friend from CHUM's Drop-In Center was at his side. A few days later the friend presented Nurse
Clinic RN Shari Flesness with an ornately framed newspaper photograph discovered while clearing out John's apartment. The photo of John and Shari at the
"Drop" was the first thing John saw upon awakening and the last thing he saw when fading off to sleep - because it was at the foot of John's bed.

The photo, now in Flesness's office, underscores daily a basic truth about the practice of health care: testing and diagnosis, medical techniques and
procedures, equipment and medication - these are all necessary aspects of health care, yet can become more effective with the addition of "intangibles" such
as respect, caring, trust, human connections and community.

John had arrived at CHUM's Emergency Shelter about four years ago upon discharge from the St. Mary's Medical Center Cardiac Unit. Despite receiving
excellent care, this Duluth newcomer had a poor prognosis because he lacked insurance and income. Estrangement from family and friends in another
community added to the bleak outlook.

The first order of business for Flesness was to figure out John's medications - not only how to manage them but also how to pay for them. The Ordean Fund
provided a short-term solution for this challenge as John began working with DIC social worker Sanda Michael to qualify for Social Security Disability Income
and Medical Assistance. Housing Advocate Cully Pederson also worked with John to help him find affordable permanent housing. Once John was on stable
footing in terms of income and housing, he settled into a predictable routine of regularly visiting the Drop-In Center and Nurse Clinic - a routine that slowly
unraveled during the last six months of John's life as his health deteriorated.

"The community of CHUM had become John's family," Flesness explained. "He'd come for blood pressure checks, encouragement and some gentle nagging
to keep his doctors appointments. When Minnesota began requiring co-pays for low-income people to obtain prescriptions, he would often need help in this
area. He would come up short and run out of medicines or have to take reduced doses.

"The medical community had helped to increase the length of John's life, yet the CHUM community helped to increase the quality of John's life," Flesness
continued. "So often we think of health care as doing concrete things like taking blood pressure and providing care. We did provide a variety of concrete
services, but in a more holistic sense we gave John respect and he was able to develop trust within the CHUM community. Although some folks would use
the term 'curmudgeon' to describe John, we had become his support system and family, and he died having lived life on his own terms with a friend at his
side.

Schoolchildren, teachers and families working together to
learn about and help neighbors in need
Grocery bags brimming with food for CHUM's Food Shelf lined the hallways of Holy Rosary Elementary School "much to the janitor's chagrin" last November, yet
third grade teacher Ann Donovan said the annual all-school food drive provides a concrete and compelling way for youngsters to empathize with and help
less-fortunate neighbors in need. Donovan said she teaches these lessons to the entire class, with small groups and through one-on-one interactions.

"The children at our school generally do not want for things," Donovan noted. "For the kids to know there's need and that children are in need is important. The
biggest lesson for the kids is that this problem is not someplace else but right here in Duluth - that it is important to help people right here. Kids need to visually
see the lines of food in the hallway - they need to physically carry the food."

Donovan also encouraged supporters who don't need the hands-on experience of a food drive to consider cash donations to the CHUM Food Shelf. Cash donations
are essential because they support more cost-effective direct food procurement by the food shelf from vendors and the local food bank.

Donovan has helped the third graders coordinate the food drive for ten of her 12 years at Holy Rosary and envisions remaining involved with it for as long as she
teaches. She said all students at the Catholic school participate - not only when they are in third grade but each year as they are encouraged to bring items to the
third graders who fill the grocery bags that line the hallways.

Different third graders make morning intercom announcements during the food drive, and also give grocery bags to schoolmates for bringing items back to school.
The children bring the drive into the Thanksgiving worship they plan each year by carrying up boxes of food during the Mass offertory. Whichever class in the K-8
school that brings the most food earns a day off from the school dress code. The drive concludes when the third graders load the food into vehicles parents drive to
the Food Shelf.

The food drive collected about 400 pounds of items during its first year and recently has had an annual goal of 1000 pounds. This year everyone was amazed,
Donovan reported, when the total poundage eclipsed one ton - 2115 pounds to be exact.

"The 'Wow!' factor this year was big," Donovan said. "Children were saying, 'Mrs. Donovan - We can't even carry it all downstairs!' This year was just remarkable -
everyone really got into it."

Having witnessed the food drive during the fall prepares the kindergartners for a spring activity that helps CHUM's Food Shelf. Sue Weber's students bring pennies
to school and place them in the classroom jar each time someone does a good deed. As the pennies accumulate, the students anticipate their teacher matching
their total at the end of the activity. After Weber's match, the class goes on a grocery shopping field trip to convert the pennies into an overflowing shopping cart for
the Food Shelf.

"We really appreciate all these creative and enthusiastic ways of support," CHUM Food Shelf Director Meg Kearns commented. "From kindergartners to seniors
and everyone in between, we depend on this wide range of support."

Where volunteer assignments yield rich friendships
As a single person who never had children and whose parents are deceased, Patt Jackson seized the opportunity to become a Telecare Friends volunteer
thinking she'd be doing "something useful for another person." For Patt, who previously coordinated volunteers and donations to CHUM from Advanstar
Communications, Telecare Friends offers personal contact and immediate results - qualities that are well suited to Patt's personality.

Patt has also been pleasantly surprised by her volunteer experiences because 90-year-old Nona, has somewhat turned the tables by giving Patt many things in
return!

"When I met Nona, I thought they had made a mistake assigning her to me because she didn't at all seem 90," Patt explained. "She's very sharp and has a great
sense of humor. And I have found out a lot of Duluth history from her. I love hearing about Old Duluth - this is my hometown. . .She's also become a bit of a
mother figure for me."

When Patt and Nona were matched through the Telecare Friends program, Nona was still living at home. With no immediate family in the area, it was a great
relief to Nona's daughter in Florida to know that she would have on-going caring human contact. Shortly after the match Nona took a nasty spill at home and
developed health problems that have since resulted in her moving to an assisted living facility and selling her house.

Patt noted that Nona has retained her mental alertness and struggles with the loss of her home and independence. As a result, Patt's role has evolved from
providing support that would keep Nona independent for as long as possible, to helping with Nona's physical and emotion transition into assisted living.

"She really misses her house," Patt said. "She knows her limitations all too well and isn't happy at all about them. . .So many of our elders don't have friends and
family nearby to help them through these changes. Telecare Friends is something I hope I have when I'm 90!"

Regular phone calls, visits and Sunday lunches characterize Nona and Patt's relationship. Patt notes that she has come to think of the relationship as a good
friendship, not just as a volunteer assignment - that her sense of responsibility has become rooted in deep caring. Patt added that she takes deep satisfaction in
helping Nona and her daughter have some "peace of mind" by being available as a friend.

"Patt always seemed like a person who works from the heart," noted former Telecare Friends Coordinator Deb Wright. "She approached me about this
volunteering opportunity, I got her matched, and she has been an incredible volunteer in our program and friend to Nona."

Wright recently accepted a position directing a family resources center, yet said she would miss her work at CHUM because of volunteers like Patt. CHUM's new
Telecare Friends coordinator is Ellen Altman.

Finding the right 'FIT' between family needs and programs
Roshone and her children Keyshone, Davin and Nalani (ages 1-9) exude energy, enthusiasm, happiness, and a sense of connection. Little would the casual
observer suspect this family has lacked permanent housing for nearly a decade, arriving in Duluth this March hopeful for opportunity, support, and a fresh
start.

"The perceived face of homelessness is not healthy, thriving, joyful children, yet often that is the reality," commented Kandi Geary, a Head Start Families in
Transition (FIT) advocate who works closely with CHUM Family Stabilization Advocate Mary Lu Larsen to help homeless families. "Here is a parent who has
an amazing bond with her three very different children. This bond has been their home - even though they haven't had much permanent housing since 1998.
And these children are thriving."

FIT, Kandi explained, works exclusively with homeless families. The older version of the program has been working with families for years with school-aged
children through Duluth ISD-709. Two years ago, a FIT program began that focuses on connecting families with preschool children with the Head Start
program. Mary Lu's attendance and imput at various Head Start meetings helped plant seeds for development of the younger FIT program.

"About four years ago I began noticing more homeless families coming to CHUM with small children," Mary Lu explained. "It was evident that homeless
children from birth to kindergarten were not being served and their needs weren't being met - their addresses were changing so quickly they couldn't be
served through center-based Head Start." As a result, Larsen added, the idea of a home-based program - even if "home" happened to be a homeless shelter
- made a lot of sense and received a green light when supported through a Head Start community needs assessment.

Roshone's journey to Duluth from Chicago through the Twin Cities led her to CHUM's Family Shelter, an oasis of stability from which she works closely with
Larsen and Geary to implement her plan to attain permanent housing, educational opportunities for her children, and greater strength as a parent, provider
and guide for those children.

"We're normal," Roshone commented. "Yes, we have life challenges, but they don't deter us from our dreams, goals and aspirations. I've had many
adversities, but they haven't beaten me down. I'm resilient and I'm persevering. I just need opportunities like everyone else to move forward with my children
who are looking up to me.

"Coming to Duluth has been a way to provide a different atmosphere and better life for my children. There's abundant opportunities and love of community
here. This is a place where we won't have to live in the shadow of our past."

Two key opportunities for Roshone have come through CHUM's Family Shelter and the Head Start FIT programs. Because of the close partnership between
Larsen and Geary, the sum of these two programs more than equals their parts. While Larsen focuses with families on life's practical matters (housing,
financial management, accessing material resources, designing and executing a plan for stability), Geary concentrates on higher level needs (more effective
parenting and social support; participation in preschool educational opportunities; improving nutrition and health care; screening for cognitive, motor and
developmental issues). What results is a seamless provision of services that address basic and higher level needs.

"CHUM provides a powerful, stable foundation that totally allows the focus of my work to be on the parenting relationship and the children's needs," Kandi
said. "When CHUM and FIT collaborate, I am freed up to help parents enjoy their families, strengthen the parent-child bond, access and focus on positive
educational experiences, and decrease isolation through family literacy days, wellness walks and other community outings."

"My work of helping families is at an important basic level," Mary Lu added. "As we tend to all of those basic needs, we then can really utilize a program like
FIT to tend to those higher level needs."

"The overall support system is the key to it all - knowing there are people who believe in you and your plan, and who are there to assist you" Roshone
concluded. "I really appreciate all the help and support I have been receiving."