CUTV News Radio spotlights Sandy Hennum of Village of Hope

Bemidji, MN – While offering a homeless family some meals, snacks, a warm bed and the comforts of home may nurture their bodies, what Sandy Hennum believes sets Village of Hope in Bemidji Minnesota apart, is they way they nurture people’s spirits. The non-profit organization at which she has been Executive Director for about six years nurtures people with connections—and a great dose of hope.

“When people come to us,” she says, “they are at their lowest point. They no longer trust authority figures. They think they’ll never get that job or that apartment. Give them a glimmer of hope, and it turns things around.”

Hennum says the nurturing that sets Village of Hope apart, helps people to believe in themselves, discover their personal power, and know that they deserve a great life.

“We help them realize they can have a powerful future.”

Everything that the organization does is focused on its mission: to stem the tide of homelessness, especially to prevent the child of a homeless family from becoming homeless himself one day.Village of Hope offers an intergenerational approach, focusing not on the child or the adult, but the family unit. They house about 55 families each year.

“If you ask a homeless child what they want to be when they grow up, they won’t have an answer,” Hennum says. "This is something they were never asked before, never thought about. Village of Hope gives them a future to think about."

To learn more about Village of Hope, visit www.villageofhopebemidji.org