Women's support group needs a helping hand

"In July, a woman came to us," Loretta Chambers, a long-time volunteer for the Helping Hands fund remembers. "She was a domestic violence victim, trying to get her feet on the ground."

The victim told Chambers she was unemployed and had not yet received public assistance. She needed help getting food and gs while she looked for employment.

"When she finally found a job, she brought her voucher back to us," Chambers said. "She said we ought to give it to somebody else. That's the type of story that makes you think 'OK, I want to keep doing this,' because that's the type of person you want to help."

Chambers has volunteered for the Helping Hands Fund since 2007. She fills in for the administrator whenever that person needs a vacation.

The fund is the brain child of the Polson Ministerial Association, and was organized to provide emergency, short-term help.

"People in need would often come to churches, but we may or may not have had time to truly sit and help them solve their problems, so we would end up just writing a check or turning them away," said Rev. Dr. Paul Rowold of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.

In October of 2005, members of the Polson Ministerial Organization pooled their funds and created a place they could direct people, with an administrator, to create a more organized platform for helping people. The administrator keeps a database of those who have been served to prevent abuse.

"There's that old saying about teaching men to fish," said chambers. "We want to teach them to fish, we don't want them to become dependent on us, because we really don't have the means to do that."

In August, the Helping Hands Fund will be temporarily closed due to the resignation of their most recent administrator, Meg Sherry, and a collective need to regroup.

"I've worked for three administrators, and they all have different perspectives, but they do a great job," Chambers said. "Meg was really great, but when you listen to domestic violence and child abuse stories every day, it can make it tough to sleep at night."

During their hiatus, the organization is hoping to refocus itself on its original mission: to help people become independent andprovide some finances through difficult, transitional parts of their lives.

"We need to say that we are for emergency care, because we have limitations in what we can do. By making a person dependent, we are not helping them," said Chambers.

According to Rowold, Sherry was starting to see about 15-17 people per day, amny of whom were "regular customers" of the fund. Helping Hands could not sustain itself with such a heavy load, neccessitating the August hiatus to search for a new administrator and refocus its goals. Volunteers hope to reopen the fund headquarters at Grandview Clinic in Polson on Sept. 1.

Once it reopens, Helping Hands will continue to assist its target groups: The low-income, elderly, disables, domestic violence victims, transients, or those who have suffered emergencies and need extra help.

"From my perspective it is much better that the churches have put their money together to help people," said Chambers. "It does so much better than each church giving individual care, and it really helps in this area.