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Program will hep people in need

Neighbors in need will be paired with donors

“My Neighbor in Need,” a Great Falls-based organization that helps match needs with community support, will open an office in Havre early next year.

Under the program, people who have a special need will call into My Neighbor in Need, which will post the need on its website and include it in a Havre Daily News column. Hopefully, people will respond to the need, and a My Neighbor in Need staffer will have the item delivered.

For instance, said Dave Snuggs, founder of My Neighbor in Need, his group has found that many people need beds.

“We find many people sleeping on the floor or in linens,” he said.

If the person calls in, Snuggs said, My Neighbor in Need would list the item on the website and in the newspaper column. People would respond, he said, and My Neighbor in Need would see to it that the bed was delivered. The success would be recorded on the website and in the newspaper. The donor could see that his donation was put to a good use, he said, even though they would never meet the recipient.

He said a lot of people need to get rid of old beds or other furniture and are glad to see that it will go to somebody who needs it.

Snuggs said many furniture companies or movers are willing to deliver the furniture at a discount rate. In return, they get free publicity because the column and the newspaper will list who delivered the item.

Other items that people seek range from furniture to winter coats to household items.

Sometimes people need transportation to events elsewhere in Montana — such as a funeral. My Neighbor in Need can sometimes provide bus tickets or vouchers.

Recently, he said, a Rocky Boy man in Great Falls needed to return to the reservation. My Neighbor in Need secured a token so he could take a bus.

My Neighbor in Need opened its doors in 2012, Snuggs, said, though he started planning for the program for a decade before that.

The Great Falls operation expanded to other communities in Cascade and neighboring counties. The program was launched in Chinook and helps a couple of families a week, he said.

But he said there is a need for the program in even though it has never advertised in this area.

“Havre seems to be the key to the entire Hi-Line,” he said.

My Neighbor in Need is looking for a place to house its Havre office. It needs quite a bit of storage space, he said.

People can deliver items to the storage area before there is a need, he said.

If somebody wants to get rid of a bed, they can leave it off at the My Neighbor in Need office.

People who want an item from My Neighbor in Need are vetted, he said.

“We check people out to see if they are eligible,” he said.

People who receive items from My Neighbor in Need have to pay for it in the long run, he said.

Sometimes people can later pay the cost, he said. Sometimes, they are asked to provide volunteer work.

“We can have them answer the telephones for a couple of hours,” he said.

“If they aren’t able, we ask them if they have friends or relatives who can help out,“ he said.

Nearly always, he said, people back the cost of the item.

Once they do, he said, they are eligible for further assistance.

Snuggs is meeting with officials from other Hi-Line social service agencies.

“We don’t want to duplicate any of the work they are doing now,” he said.

But so far, he has been greeted with open arms, he said.

When people come to My Neighbor in Need looking for emergency fuel, they will be directed to HRDC, which has a program to help people with that need, or people needing food could be sent to Havre Food Bank.

Volunteers will be trained to help out, he said, by screening applicants seeking help from My Neighbor in Need, he said.

He said he hoped the program would be in operation by March 1.

 

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