Kaleidoscope Community Services

Friends Helping Friends: In 2020, KCS continued to operate our work services program throughout the pandemic year. Throughout 2020 KCS hired 9 employees through the program generating nearly $70,000 in payroll to program participants. KCS provided other financial help to program participants for motel rooms, car repairs,identificaiton cards, utility bills, food, housing rent, prescription medications, dental work, and more. Program participants also received valuable job training, mentorying, and job placement for better employment when they were ready to exit the program.In September 2020 we turned over the management of 2nd Street Commons over to our long time ministry partners, 2nd Chance Discipleship Ministries, so that we could focus more fully on the work services program. In the process of turning over the management, we also gifted the resourses and equipment to 2nd Chance Discipleship (they alos have 501c3 status) that had been donated or granted with the 2nd St Commons in mind.

Community Collaborative: In 2020 KCS continued to advocate for our local homeless community by networking with various groups, mainly faith-based, who desired to be helpful in advancing iniatives to build support for local homeless.KCS continued to help individuals and groups interested in assisting the poor by training them how to collaboratively connect to other groups serving those of meager means in our community, how to serve in ways that promote missional unity in the church; how to provided support to one another;and how to grow deeper in their faith through the crucible of serving.

2ND STREET COMMONS: The downtown venue was opened in Coeur dAlene, Idaho in January 2014, with a mission to serve the local homeless population in a comfortable, safe and free living room environment. The end of December 2020 marked 83 months of continual operation for 2nd Street Commons.During 2020, volunteers through KCS and its collaborative partners teamed up to provide crucial services to those in need in our local community. In 2020 over 15 different volunteers using the 2nd Street Commons (2SC) venue had over 3000 "points of contact" with guests who received some type of service, whether it was a meal, a practical resource (clothes, camping gear, etc.), or relational encounter with a 2SC or partner ministry volunteer. Even though the numbers of people served were drastically reduced in 2020 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the mission of these volunteers and their organizations was accomplished on a daily basis throughout the year. While some volunteers had to stop serving through the commons because of health concerns, the core group of volunteers continued the work of serving the homeless and poor, who literally had no other place to go.Throughout the pandemic year, volunteers would arrive at 2SC at 5:30AM Monday through Saturday to open the building to our local homeless community. Volunteers served coffee and breakfast, conducted bible discussions (not mandatory), and distributed resources as needed until 8:00AM each morning. The efforts of these thoughtful, kind, and generous people combined for over 1500 hours of volunteer service during 2020.Because of local gathering mandates and closures, service through the commons was suspended for just over a month. During that time food and resources were re-located to a different site where services for the homeless community were being consolidates. Two weeks prior to that change, during the relocation period, and for a number of month after resuming services through the commons, all services were rendered "curbside" with inside venue access only open to volunteer staff. During this time one of our local health organizations provided a daily presence to monitor volunteer and guest temperatures and symptoms. Although this added a tremendous amount of stress and extra work for volunteers, as well as other guests, we got through it all as a result of committed volunteers.