During this Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the Missouri Valley Coalition for Homeless People is building awareness of the hunger and homelessness in the Bismarck area.
Mark Heinert, MVCHP Co-President, says in 2023, agencies provided almost a thousand homeless individuals in the Bismarck-Mandan area with shelter or temporary housing, totaling more than 42 thousand nights of shelter. Close to a third of individuals sheltered were children or youth.
"I think it's important to draw attention to some groups that are overrepresented within the homeless world. We are finding far more individuals of color that are finding themselves homeless. We have an over representation of individuals, especially in the youth population, that are LGBTQ. So those are some of the concerns that we have to figure out as a community. What can be done to address those over representations?"
Heinert says in Bismarck they’re holding a few events this year to bring awareness to the problems that the underprivileged face. Events include a street corner winter gear and donation drive, a walk a mile in my shoes tour, and a team-based tournament and fundraiser.
Heinert says these are great ways to get involved, but he says one of the biggest needs they see is more respect and compassion for the unhoused.
"Just remember that everyone who is experiencing homelessness is a human who is struggling. They deserve your time, they deserve to be looked in the eye, and they deserve to be talked to with respect."