Bemidji's Evergreen House Awarded Operations Funding

(Washington, DC) - Evergreen House in Bemidji recently was awarded $935,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services according to U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson. This funding is critical to continuing operations at the Evergreen Shelter Program, a crisis shelter for youth who are homeless, runaways, or experiencing personal or family crisis.

According to Rebecca Schueller of Evergreen House, they are the only emergency shelter for youth in a 15-county area in northwest and north central Minnesota. Their service area includes the Red Lake and Leech Lake Indian Reservations.

“As the only youth shelter in the region, it’s important that their funding and their mission continues,” Rep. Peterson said. “If we can reach out and support troubled children early on, there’s a good chance they’ll make better choices in life.”

Evergreen's core programs are offered at three accessible community sites and through area schools. Free services include youth and family counseling, emergency shelter, a youth halfway house program, substance abuse education and support, housing for homeless teens, outreach to street youth, intensive reading remediation for youth, independent living skills for youth, and support for youth and parents on youth sexual orientation issues.

All of Evergreen’s services are free to youth and families. They provide direct services to 1,500 children, teens, and families each year. Many more are reached through community outreach and educational presentations.

The agency was established in 1977 as a private, nonprofit organization. They have a 15-member board of directors and 23 full-time staff. Their 2005 annual budget is $1.3 million.

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