Finishing on a mission

POST FALLS - Patrick Stiner is finishing well.

The 50-year-old has been given about a year to live due to an inoperable tumor on his brain. He has already made his death arrangements.

But Stiner, who served in the Air Force for six years as an electronic security systems specialist, is still on a mission.

He's the keeper of the inn at Ignite Hope, a nonprofit warming center for the homeless that opened this winter at Ground Force's warehouse in Post Falls.

"I felt like someone needed to step up," said Stiner, who is living at the center as a volunteer. "The people who started this have kind hearts, but somebody needed to watch their back. They were putting themselves in a position to where they'd be liable and they didn't see it coming.

"I decided to make my personal mission that that was not going to happen."

Stiner was homeless when Natalie Forsyth and Patty McGruder, both of Dirne Community Health Center, learned about him while seeking volunteers for Ignite Hope after the facility's doors were opened by Ron Nilson and Ground Force.

Stiner was staying at the St. Vincent de Paul men's shelter after he lost his job inspecting missile parts for a local aerospace firm due to the tumor.

"When I learned that he had a zero-failure rate in the military, he was what we needed to help make this happen," Forsyth said.

"He's one of our most important cogs. He has a good hold on keeping the peace and making sure people there are safe. He takes care of things immediately and completely.

"We couldn't have done this without him."

A servant's heart

Stiner shuns the spotlight. He believes he's only a part of a bigger picture to serve those in need and he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

"Natalie, Patty and Ron deserve all the credit," Stiner said. "They're the ones who put themselves out there on this. I'm just one of many who operates in the shadows, and that's the way I like it. We're a good team and, without each other, it's not going to work.

"All three of them deserve no less than the best that I can give. I get paid with satisfaction."

Stiner oversees the day-to-day operations of the center, including taking in donations and people's belongings during the day when the facility is closed, cleaning and keeping the place safe and functional. Thirty to 50 people stay at the center each night.

"The board has given me a set of rules to operate by, and I operate by those," he said. "I put out fires, and what has gotten me this far is street credibility."

Volunteering at the center and its organizers, Stiner said, have changed his outlook on life.

"Up until a few weeks ago, I was a hard case," Stiner said. "I had a certain take on the world. I felt like I was done for various reasons, and they showed me how to get over that."

Stiner has taken on a heart to serve the homeless.

"I believe they should be treated a certain way and they're being treated that way here," he said. "All they want is a little dignity and respect. No matter what is going on in your life, you still have to care about people."

Hope ignited

Stiner said he now believes there's a deeper meaning and purpose to life.

"I believe God has his hands on this place because I see too many things going on," he said. "It's not a normal operation. If you ask for anything that needs to be done (that requires money or volunteers), it gets done. I don't have to worry about that stuff."

Stiner said he believes such changes in his life are synonymous with recently learning that his tumor is shrinking with medicine he's taking under a clinical trial.

"They believe it has shrunk 3 to 5 percent and that's a big deal because it had grown from the size of ink on a pen tip to a pea in six months," Stiner said. "They told me that I had a year to 14 months to live based on that growth rate."

Stiner said he believes in synchronicity now. He said he has made some poor choices in his life - to the point that family has been driven away - but he has come to realize there's still time to do his part to make a difference in people's lives.

"Too many intricate things have all had to happen in a certain order to end up where I'm at today," he said. "I don't believe in circumstance. I believe everything happens for a reason now."

When Forsyth learned that Stiner was sleeping on a prison cot in the office of the center, she felt he deserved more during his final days and for playing a key role in the facility. So she secured a new mattress donation from Comfort City for Stiner.

"I'm so glad that he can at least sleep in comfort after all he's done for us," Forsyth said. "I don't think I'd want to spend my final days at a warming center."

The shelter is open each night - regardless of the temperature - through April 1.

"Some folks said they'll take care of me (after April 1)," said Stiner with a smile, but declining to elaborate and say whether he was speaking in a spiritual sense or with housing.

"Regardless of what happens, this is a special place that has ignited hope in me."