Village of Hope

Village of Hope Grand Opening Celebration!

2011-02-26T19:35:00.013-06:00

On-Site Resident Assistant Apartment:

Family Unit 5:

Family Unit 6:

Family Unit 3:

The Baba Yagas Sang "Our Children" and "Lean on Me":

Board Member Diane Baer cuts the ribbon:

Board Members Diane Baer and Sue Snider cut the ribbon as VOH Lead Homeless Advocate Amanda Golden looks on. Amanda Golden is responsible for keeping Ours to Serve running day-to-day during the last several years and for transitioning the shelter operations to Village of Hope!!

Board Member Lois Jenkins (Black Jacket) cuts the ribbon with guests:

Lois Jenkins:

Board Members Sue and Diane cutting the ribbon with community guests as the Baba Yagas sing in the background:

VOH Executive Director Rebecca Hoffman addresses the crowd:

Sean Kaneski from Kuepers Architects and Builders addresses the crowd:

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony:

Nate King performs an honor drumming for the crowd:

Nate King:

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony:

Lois Jenkins, Board Member, offers a Village of Hope dedication:

Lois Jenkins:

Village of Hope Board President Scott Thorson welcomes the crowd:

Volunteers are the Heart and Soul of Village of Hope!

2010-12-21T12:32:00.007-06:00

Village of Hope President, Scott Thorson, lends a hand to Appliance Moving Day!

Scott's son, Ian Thorson, hauling an upright freezer down the stairs.

Village of Hope Advocate Jeff Lamke makes "easy work" of moving big appliances!

There are volunteer jobs and then there are AWFUL volunteer jobs! Moving appliances from Ours to Serve House of Hospitality into Village of Hope in the middle of the winter definitely falls into the 'AWFUL Volunteer Jobs' category! However, these three did just that-- with smiles on their faces! Board president Scott Thorson, his son Ian Thorson, and Village of Hope Advocate Jeff Lamke moved two freezers, a washer, and a dryer out of HOH and into VOH just last week! There just aren't enough thank yous for people who are willing to do something so unglamorous for the sake of their community!

Village of Hope Receives a Sign! Literally!!

2010-12-21T11:05:00.003-06:00

Village of Hope received its sign yesterday! Katie Culshaw of Maplewood, MN donated her artistic talents to create the new logo for Village of Hope. The logo nicely encompasses the dual themes of Village of Hope-- providing shelter in conjunction with "green" building! The sign was created and installed by Meyer Sign Co. of Bemidji and is a beautiful addition to the VOH campus!

Northwoods Woman

2010-11-03T09:59:00.006-05:00

Check out the November-December edition of Northwoods Woman! Executive Director Rebecca Hoffman's Village of Hope journey is the featured cover story! You can pick-up Northwoods Woman throughout Minnesota. To find a copy near you go to www.northwoodswoman.com .

Appliance Day!

2010-10-29T06:35:00.009-05:00

Board member Lois Jenkins's Serpent Green closet flooring!

Staff efficiency apartment: applicances being installed.

The staircase received carpeting this week!!!

A sturdy, heavy-duty, simple-to-use commercial washer and dryer. You could never imagine how important this equipment is to running a shelter day-to-day!!

Newly stained concrete floors in the homeless advocates' office.

Newly stained floors in the case management office!

Pantry shelving being installed.

Stainless steel three-compartment sink! (This is one of Lead Homeless Advocate Amanda's favorite features of the whole shelter!!)

Convection oven, prep area, and hood installed.

Prep area and prep sink.

Laundry room on main floor.

Dish storage cabinet.

Before the oven/stove arrived...

The delivery begins!

Kitchen appliances throughout Village of Hope were purchased locally through Naylor's.

Lead Advocate Amanda suffering through a cold fall day at her desk in Ours to Serve House of Hospitality wrapped in an afgan to stay warm.

The dining room chairs have arrived!!

The USDA Rural Development funded commercial kitchen, laundry, and staff apartment appliances for Village of Hope recently! Yesterday the equipment caravan arrived!

September Construction Updates

2010-09-27T08:56:00.006-05:00

525 Mississippi Avenue NW:

The dumpster pad. Water will sheet off of the parking lot under the dumpster and into the holding pond below:

The dual fuel, multi-zone boiler manifold:

Landscaping was installed around the entire facility this month. A last-minute switch to crushed rock was made to reduce the annual maintenance costs associated with mulch (the original plan):

All four staff apartments will feature a full size kitchen:

All staff apartments will feature private restrooms:

Timer Switch. All lights and fans will have timer switches so they will automatically shut-off after 10, 20, 30, or 60 minutes of use:

Solar Shade. This solar shade will block the sun from hitting these windows in the northern family units during the hot summer months but will allow the sun to reach the window glazing during the cold winter months of the year. (All part of the passive heating and cooling plan!)

Linen storage closets in the lower level:

Quarry tile being laid in the kitchen:

This rock retaining wall feature was added to save the trees on the southern side of the shelter and for added on-site water drainage control:

Front foyer window install. This window will allow the homeless advocate staff to see who is at the front door at all times. An electronic strick plate will enable staff to remotely open the door for tenants and visitors.

Solar shade on southern exposure of shelter. The concept is the same as the upper level solar shade-- block the summer sun but allow the winter sun in. The original plan was to paint this white. Once it was installed the board of directors and I changed the color scheme of the entire shelter exterior in order to retain the natural beauty of this cedar structure!:

One seriously happy shelter director surveying the progress:

Front porch columns. Having a warm, inviting, residential appearance was an original design concept that I'm happy we were able to retain throughout the process of trimming our construction budget. Having a positive presence in our community begins with this front porch and extends through everything we accomplish as an emergency shelter provider.

Building Green: How we're doing it!

2010-09-16T10:33:00.009-05:00

Our building motto for Village of Hope is "Building Green, Building Community". Village of Hope will be one of the greenest structures in Bemidji, MN when it is complete! Village of Hope was built green for two reasons. First, we recognize that building green is better for the people who inhabit a building and for our environment. We care about this! Our other motivation came from the fact that we have approximately $120,000 each year with which to operate this emergency shelter. This includes payroll for staffing the shelter 24 hours a day/seven days a week, insurance, food, utilities, maintenance-- EVERYTHING! Moving into a bigger shelter had to include a plan for reducing overhead costs. We hired Chris Raimann from Kuepers to be our architect because he is a LEED certified architect and was able to work with us to create a shelter that would meet this green building goal. Here is what we included in our green building design:

Integrated Design Process: Green building design goals were set early in the design process with all design team members. The floor plans are formulated to maximize efficiency and comfort.
Site Selection: The building site is within walking distance to essential community services and on a public transit route.
On-Site Staff Residences: Village of Hope includes three on-site staff apartments. This will reduce the overall payroll budget by nearly $30,000 each year, allowing us to afford the increase in insurance, utilities, and food that will accompany a larger facility.
On-Site Intern Housing: One efficiency apartment on-site will accomodate a volunteer intern that will assist homeless families with securing housing and achieving their self-sufficiency goals. Free housing will be an attractive tool to use in recruiting quality interns. Consequently, work that will directly benefit shelter tenants will be performed by the interns free of charge.
Passive Solar Heating: The building is designed to accept the sun's heat during the cold months of the year. Thick polished concrete floors and brick walls will collect the heat during the day and then continue to heat the building in the evenings.
Passive Cooling: An exterior solar shade will block the windows on the south side of the building from receiving the sun's heat in the summer months.
In-Floor Heating: In-floor hydronic heating is used as an efficient heating method on the main floor.
Chemical Pollution Reduction: Products (furnishings, paints, primers, sealants, adhesives, & carpet) have been chosen that do not release harmful toxins into the air.
Stormwater Management: Storm water is collected on-site through careful site preparation, rainwater gardens, a water retention pond, and minimal impervious coverage. This reduces pollution run-off that would flow into Lake Bemidji and burden on the City's storm water management system.
Sustainable Landscaping: At least 75% of the landscaping is native to the local area. Existing mature trees were saved. All landscaping is designed to thrive without irrigation.
Light Pollution Reduction: The outside lights were designed to illuminate the Village of Hope property, not our neighbors'!
Building Water Efficiency: In addition to having no irrigation system, the water use for the building will be reduced by 30% through the use of auto shut-off water fixtures on sinks, tubs, and showers and low flow toilets.
Energy Use Reduction: Design elements such as using spray foam insulation on all exterior walls, timed light switches, a dual-fuel boiler (which enables the entire facility to be charged off-peak electric rates), flourescent light fixtures, and zoned heating controls will reduce the energy costs by at least 30% compared to code. Cooking with convection heat to reduce cooking times 25-30%.
Daylight: At least 75% of the floor area will receive ambient natural daylight. This will reduce the need for light fixtures and have physiological and psychological benefits to the building's occupants.
View Space and Window Access: All of the occupied spaces in the building provide a view of the outside world. Windows can be opened to allow access to fresh air.
Durable Materials: All materials were chosen based on their durability.
Waste Reduction and Management: All construction waste was sorted on-site and recycled to the greatest extent possible. The building occupants will easily access and use a recycling system.
Potential for Growth: The building was designed so that a second level may be expanded to accomodate future growth.
Solar Thermal Hot Water: The building was designed to accept the future installation of solar thermal hot water panels on the flat portion of the roof.
Building Aesthetic: The building was designed to create a sense of being at home and to blend well with the surrounding neighborhood. In other words, it has curb appeal!

The primary design directive was to create a happy, healthy, durable, and energy efficient building that fosters the primary needs of families experiencing homelessness and the staff that operate the facility.

A Busy Construction Site Today!

2010-08-25T10:24:00.008-05:00

Things are changing and changing fast this week! The sheetrockers are nearly finished, we have the first signs of SIDING, and the floors are being installed in the northeast corner of the facility!!! We are using a product called Hardie board for our siding. You can check this phenomenal product out here: http://www.jameshardie.com/. We intentionally made the exterior look residential, quaint, and beautiful. Some neighbors opposed the shelter being here until they had a chance to see one of the initial renderings of the building. Being an asset to our neighborhood begins from day-one!! And "Building Green, Building Community" has been the guiding prinicple of this shelter project! Polished and stained concrete floors are being used throughout the main level of the shelter. They are easy to maintain, sanitary, and will be a source of heat-gain through a passive solar design. The entire main level is being heated with in-floor heat. Today (8/25/10) the gypcrete and heat tubing is being installed in the northeast corner of the building (The rest of the building was built on a slab-on-grade and the floors were poured several months ago.):

Storage Closets in the Lower Level (Staff) Laundry Room on 8/25/10: Storage Room on 8/25/10:

On-Site Staff Apartment on 8/25/10:

Case Management Office on 8/25/10:

Mudding the kitchen ceiling: The Multi-Purpose/Dining Room (I love all of the daylight in this room!):

A Shower Stall Surround Installation:

The Hallway on 8/23/10:

A new electric pole is being installed out back on 8/25/10 to replace the old, leaning one:

Insulation and Sheet Rock being Installed

2010-08-24T14:52:00.009-05:00

Blown-in cellulose insulation is being used on all exterior walls. This is a very efficient insulation and helps to eliminate all leaks! Dining/Multi-Purpose Room. Insulation in the ceiling will keep the noise levels down in the upper units in addition to increasing energy efficiency.

Sheet rock-- ready to be hung! One crew comes in to hang the sheetrock and another crew comes in to mud and tape!

Insulation (batting) in a staff apartment.

August Update!

2010-08-06T13:17:00.008-05:00

I cannot wait to sit on this front porch and have a cup of coffee on a cool fall morning with our guests and staff!

From the parking lot entrance on 8/6/10.

A back view of the retention pond.

South side of the facility (dining room windows).

The Kuepers crew was at Village of Hope for a walk-through inspection with Doug Kueper (second from left) today. I tagged along and was grateful for the opportunity to see this team in action. Clearly Doug has years of construction experience and I left this experience feeling that he wants us to have nothing less than the best possible building (which has been reflected in all of my experiences with each and every one of his employees throughout this building process)!

The kitchen on 8/6/10.

Family Unit 8/6/10.

Residential Hallway 8/6/10.

Clerestory windows in a northern guest unit. These windows will pull passive solar gain into the northern side of the building; the heat will be stored in brick walls.

Clerestory windows, exterior view on 8/6/10.

Upper level staff unit on 8/6/10. First signs of insulation!

Upper level staff unit shower stalls are being installed this week!

Me (Rebecca) checking out the view from my new office!

Lower level laundry room on 8/6/10.

A view of the shelter from 5th Street on my walk back to Ours to Serve House of Hospitalitiy.

The blog has been quiet lately, but the building project has been moving at full speed ahead!! There is not a day that goes by that I do not thank my lucky stars for the great team at Kuepers Architects and Builders that is creating Village of Hope! They rolled out the red carpet for us on Day One and have continued to provide us with 'red carpet service' to this very day. The building is now fully enclosed (except for the doors) and today is all about insulation and security cameras!

We are using a spray foam insulation in the walls because it is the most energy efficient insulation option for this building. The advantage of spray foam insualtion is that it covers 100% of the surface, minimizing any chance of air leaks.

Security cameras will help us to monitor who is accessing the building at all times. Six cameras will monitor the front and side entrances, residential corridors, the parking lot, and the exterior windows of the shelter facility. All cameras will be connected to a digital video recorder that all staff will be able to access via the internet. The advantage of using technology to monitor the facility is that it allows guests greater freedom in entering and exiting the facility while maintaining a high level of safety/security for the people and property housed at Village of Hope.

Village of Hope will be locked 24 hours a day. Residents will receive a code that will allow them to freely access the shelter at all times of the day. Visitors will enter through the main entrace which will be staffed from 8 AM - 8 PM daily.

Throughout the design and building of Village of Hope I have always asked myself "what would I want if I were the homeless parent living here with my children?" And always I return to two key concepts: dignity and safety. I believe this combination of design and technology will do just that!

Thanks for reading! ~Rebecca

WALLS!

2010-06-23T15:25:00.009-05:00

Rebecca, landing on Village of Hope for the first time! (This is for you, mom and dad!!) The walls going up, literally!

Stacks of lumber, ready to go!

The beginnings of the retention pond wall.

The walls of the shelter have started going up this week! And I stepped onto the new Village of Hope for the first time. The feeling of standing at the front entrance of this shelter was absolutely magical! The building is 30% complete as of today! In addition to the walls, the retaining pond wall is in its initial stages this week. Thanks for checking in on us!! ~Rebecca

Where Are We?

2010-06-09T12:44:00.001-05:00

If you would like to drive by the construction site to see it with your own eyes we're located at 525 Mississippi Avenue NW, Bemidji! (Next to the old Northern Medical Center.)

How Can I Help?

2010-06-09T12:22:00.002-05:00

I receive this question almost daily. This truly is a testament to how our community continues to raise this Village! Currently all of the major areas of the shelter have been funded. However, we still need to secure funding for a few furnishings. Here is how, specifically, you can help!!

Window Coverings:
(10) Line Pinch Pleated Drape 102" x 94" with Rods @ $332 each
(6) Lined Pinch Pleated Drape 42" x 94" with Rods @ $176 each
(2) Line Pinch Pleated Drape 126" x 94" with Rods @ $442 each

Miscellaneous:
(12) Towel Bars @ $15 each
(1) Coil Door for Dining Room Serving Counter and Dish Return @ $8,000
Stainless Steel Pots and Pans $350-$500 total
Rubber Silverware Tray with Four Compartments @ $30

Outdoors:
Tool Shed $3,500
Riding Lawn Mower $1200

Painting:
Volunteer to be on our painting crew!! Call me (Rebecca) at 751-0722 or e-mail me at hoffman@villageofhopebemidji.org.

Construction Update June 10, 2010

2010-06-09T12:11:00.006-05:00

The front of Village of Hope. The cement floor in the basement has been installed and the floor/ceiling joists are in place. The earth is being compacted in the rest of the building. Once that is completed the in-floor heating coils will be placed and the slab will be poured.

Compacting the fill inside of the building in preparation for the slab on grade.

The sidewalk in front of the facility on Mississippi got a facelift this week.

Compactors need to compress every foot of dirt as it is placed around the interior and exterior of the insulated concrete forms to insure that there will be no damage to the facility once the earth settles around the building.

Pictures from the Ground Breaking Ceremony!

2010-05-21T09:25:00.014-05:00

Construction Updates: May 2010

2010-05-21T09:06:00.013-05:00

Close-Up of the Insulating Concrete Form Mold

Back of Shelter

Front of Shelter/Basement

South Wall

North Wall

Sparky's Construction, hauling in tons of fill!

Sneak Peek!

ICF Molds on site, ready to create the footings/basement.

The Site

The construction of Village of Hope is in full-swing! The footings and basement walls are being installed currently. We ran into a couple of delays when the water level was higher than the soil borings previously had reported. We lowered the basement ceiling height to 7' to resolve the issue and place the building above the highest water line. Some of the forms needed for the top layer of the insulating concrete forms (ICF) did not arrive, but have since been manufactured and delivered to our building site. Today Dick's Plumbing and Heating is working on the plumbing installation.

Ground Breaking Ceremony!

2010-05-03T08:13:00.005-05:00

Ours to Serve House of Hospitality Executive Director Rebecca Hoffman and Board Members Scott Thorson, Lori Theis, Cheryl Yarnott, Sue Snider, Diane Baer, and Lois Jenkins break ground on Village of Hope on 4/29/2010!

Lois Jenkins offered the following invocation:

Let us face East from this Village of Hope and welcome all peoples from the East, especially our close neighbors from Leech Lake. May they feel welcome and safe. Let us welcome our city and county and state elected officials and staff who, together with our staff, all of whom are relied upon to work for the 'good of the people.'

Let us look to the South from this Village of Hope and welcome all peoples from the South, especially our close neighbors from neighboring counties. May they feel welcome and safe. Let us remember every day the builders, especially Kuepers Construction, and the subcontractors; may they work smart and safe. may they know they are constructing not just a 'building' or even a LEED building, but a community home for the many.

We delight that the children who will live here for awhile will have a wonderful playground surrounded by nature and caring family and staff. May their 'peels of joy' while at play, transform this neighborhood of Bemidji.

Let us look to the West from this Village of Hope and welcome all peoples from the West, especially our close neighbors from White Earth and the Red River Valley. May they feel welcome and safe. Let us remember the close neighbors especially those Veterans who seek medical care, may they hear the children play and be glad for life.

Let us look to the North from this Village of Hope and welcome all peoples from the North, especially our close neighbors from Red Lake. May they feel welcome and safe. Let us remember all neighbors, migrants, immigrants, refugees who move around looking for work or for family in times of war and famine and tough economic times.

Let us look UP at the wonder of the day, sun (and the rain that will make our crops grow) that will help energize our Village of Hope; and the folks who live and work here. Let us look up with the children, with wonder at the night sky of star and moon and be scared no more. May the beauty of this corner of our community called Village of Hope shine forth in the staff and board of directors, and in our guests.

Let us look Down at the wonder of the earth, this place that has been waiting, waiting, waiting, to build this Village of Hope. May we be kind to Mother Earth as we build a home for her children, a community where they can restore their lives.

Let us look Within ourselves and always remember our neighbors and our guests who go to work, go to school, and yet are in need of this family shelter, Village of Hope. Let us with them promise that we will end homelessness in our day, even at this Village of Hope.

With Gratitude to the Creator and to the many neighbors from all directions who have made Village of Hope possible we now take a moment of silence, to each in our own way, our own say, or in a gesture pause,

And if a song burst forth, that is okay, too!

Miigwetch!

CLOSING!

2010-04-29T09:38:00.001-05:00

Our closing went off without a hitch yesterday! Check out this motley crew!

From left to right: Jim Smiythe, Jim Haskell, Craig Boyer, Chris Raimann, Sean Kaneski, Tim Flathers, & Rich Jaranson. These folks made this happen!

Jim works w/ the title company. MHFA sent him NINE POUNDS of paperwork for us to sign yesterday (you can see it all sitting on the table)!

Craig and Jim work for North Country Health Services. They sold us this wonderful piece of land far below its appraised market value. We wouldn't have this project if it weren't for this piece of land, in the perfect location upon which to build.

Chris Raimann is a LEED certified architect with Kuepers, Inc. and he designed this beautiful green structure! If my husband and I ever build our dream green home, Chris will be my architect!

Sean Kaneski is a project developer with Kuepers. He brought this project together during a chance meeting at a Bemidji Chamber of Commerce After Hours event we both were attending!

Tim Flathers is my hero. He and I met when I first came back to Ours to Serve and he offered a world of good advice during that first meeting. Everything fell in place from that point on! Tim works for the Beltrami County Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA), which will serve as the ownership entity for Village of Hope according to State bonding regulations.

Rich Jaranson is the chairman of the Beltrami County HRA and has worked on housing issues with them for over 30 years as a board member!! On top of his commitment to this shelter project, Rich brings humor and levity to a process like this!

As for me, I took the picture. I'm the behind-the-scenes-lady! A very, very grateful behind-the-scenes lady!!! ~Rebecca

GROUND BREAKING!!!!

2010-04-27T09:48:00.000-05:00

Ground breaking for Village of Hope is set for Thursday April 29, 2010 at 3:45 PM!!!

Please join us for this much-anticipated community event at 525 Mississippi Avenue NW, Bemidji!

Office Furniture

2010-04-14T11:07:00.000-05:00

In keeping with our green building theme, we were able to reclaim office furniture from the old Ainsworth building last week for Village of Hope! Nine volunteers helped us haul four loads of office furniture to a storage unit donated to Ours to Serve by the Smarts! Reclaimed items included everything from office desks to filing cabinets and trash cans to white boards. We are grateful to Paul Kivi, Robert Saxton, Greg and Daryl and the Sentenced to Service crew, Amanda Golden, Jeff Lamke, and Scott Thorson for making this donation possible by hauling it to our storage unit!! Thank you to Lois Jenkins, as well, for staffing the shelter while we were hauling!! ~Rebecca

White Spruce Trees Needed! (Will Move/Fill Holes!)

2010-03-31T12:05:00.000-05:00

We are looking for a donation of up to 11 white spruce trees for our new facility. Our agreement with the City states that we'll plant these along our parking lot to screen the asphalt for the neighbors. Ron Koetter has agreed to move the trees as he as the equipment to do so. If you have white spruce trees that are about 5' tall and no more than 2" in diameter in the trunk please give us a call! We will move them and plug the holes! Thanks!!

Main shelter number:
751-0722

E-Mail:
otss@paulbunyan.net

Closing: The Final Pre-Development Phase!

2010-02-24T16:20:00.000-06:00

I am excited to share with you the latest update on our new facility project, Village of Hope! Village of Hope is a replacement/expansion development that will replace our current homeless shelter, Ours to Serve House of Hospitality. Our agency has been providing emergency shelter in Bemidji for over 20 years in an old WWII-era bungalow which is licensed for just six beds. Village of Hope will be a safe, expanded, accessible shelter facility for up to 28 homeless individuals!

As of today the Village of Hope project is in the closing department with Minnesota Housing, our primary funder (Minnesota Housing is funding $1,170,000 of the total development). Once the project has closed with MN Housing we'll be breaking ground and the construction phase will begin-- even if there is still snow on the ground! Kuepers, our architect and builder, is prepared to remove the snow from the site, heat the ground, and begin construction as soon as we receive the "green light" from Minnesota Housing!

Thanks for checking in with us, I look forward to sharing the news of our groundbreaking date in the very near future! ~Rebecca