Soup kitchen faces homelessness

COEUR d’ALENE — Cherished Ones Ministries served its first meal in Coeur d’Alene on April 7, 2001.

“We’ve seen a lot of people come and go as far as need. We've seen a lot of different types of need,” said Kevin Kram, director.

The need remains.

These days, the soup kitchen serves dinner to about 80 people, including seniors and children, each Saturday at 401 N. Second St. That comes out to about 4,000 meals a year prepared by loyal volunteers for those who might otherwise go without.

“There's a lot of people downtown who are struggling. They're not making it, or not making a very good living,” Kram said.

He has come to know them. He has seen their successes and failures. He has encouraged and consoled.

Now, Kram and Cherished Ones - another victim of rising real estate values - could use a shoulder to lean on.

Kram learned last month that the owner of the 3,500-square-foot site the nonprofit leases plans to renovate it. The rent will increase, well beyond the sweet deal of $1,050 a month it has paid mostly through donations the last 13 years.

Kram, who has been involved with soup kitchens for three decades, knew it was bound to happen. He knows people who have had to move because of skyrocketing housing costs. The Hayden Senior Center is facing a similar dilemma.

“The price of everything around here, it's going through the roof,” he said. “And I know we've been under full market value for years. I've known that and it's been appreciated, greatly appreciated. We’re getting this for probably 25% of what it's supposed to go for.”

The owner gave them six months notice, which means Cherished Ones will need to find a new home by Sept. 1.

Their current one isn’t extravagant. Its space is filled with tables and chairs and a kitchen. A few signs with messages like “Give us this day, our daily bread,” decorate the walls.

While it's bare bones, Kram will miss it.

“When this started, everything you see we've pretty much done. It was a gutted shell of a building when we got it,” he said.

Pastor Michael Murray and wife Sarah have been serving free breakfasts and holding church services each Sunday for eight years at the site. They, too, will need a new home.

Small churches often have to move, Michael Murray said, so it’s not a giant disappointment. They hope to remain paired with Cherished Ones and share a home.

“Good work, it’s worth doing,” he said.

Kram, who is in construction, and the board rejected the easy way out, which would be closing the ministry. It would relieve them of something that demands time and attention and provides a few headaches for zero monetary reward.

“Nobody felt like we should shut down,” he said.

Not when they see how many count on them for a Saturday dinner and conversation, or picking up dated produce and baked goods from grocery stores. The Altar Church has served hundreds of Christmas and Thanksgiving meals there, too.

Kram said the community might be surprised to know people considered middle- or even upper-class visit the soup kitchen after falling on hard times, or just for the company.

“Contrary to popular belief, most people think a soup kitchen is all homeless,” he said.

He doesn’t know where Cherished Ones will go. He has called real estate agents and churches to see what’s out there. Nothing yet.

But they have their faith.

“God will provide,” Kram said. “That’s what we’ve been standing on. Right now, we’re just watching and praying.”