It took years for Cinnamon Davis-Hall to realize that the people who had slept on the family’s couch during her childhood or lived in the yard for extended periods were homeless folks taken in by her parents, Al and Linda Erickson.
“We’ve always helped homeless, and I was raised around it,” Davis-Hall recently recalled. “But I didn’t know about it because my mom and dad never treated them with a stigma, like it’s a bad thing to need a helping hand.”
That spirit of selflessness led Al and Linda to launch the Northwest Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry for homeless, low-income and at-risk veterans — first the stand down in 1999 and then the pantry in 2002. Davis-Hall is carrying on the family tradition by serving as the organization’s community outreach specialist.
Now the food pantry, which receives no government assistance and instead relies on community support, is looking to add an ambitious expansion to its repertoire: Camp Ponderosa veterans retreat in the Swan Valley. It will be a place for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries to receive job training, therapy and services, including suicide prevention.
The sprawling retreat property originally was the site of the Swan River Correctional Training Center, which operated for nearly three decades beginning in the late 1960s. After housing other tenants, the site had sat vacant since 2006. Erickson heard that the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) had the property on the market, so he put together an application shortly before deadline.
The DNRC accepted his proposal, making his organization the owner of the site’s facilities and the lessee of the property, which is school trust land. Erickson signed the 30-year lease on his 79th birthday on Aug. 28 last year, and then celebrated his 80th birthday there this year with family from all over the world.
“Things happen for a reason,” Erickson said last week. “As far as I’m concerned, the good lord put this in front of us because he has a plan for it. So we’re going for it.”
Over the past year, the Ericksons and squadrons of volunteers have put in numerous hours reviving the long-vacant property. Erickson spoke highly of the young volunteers from the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) who cleared mountains of branches, wood and debris.
“Those kids did a great job,” he said.
The Northwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry in Evergreen on Oct. 30. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Between the various buildings, the property can provide access to showers, bathrooms, a kitchen, gym, workout room, sleeping areas, spaces to teach trades and more. Getting everything to a functional level will take a great deal of time, work and money, but the main focus out of the gates will be the kitchen in the administrative building as well as a campground and RV park, according to Mary Wolf, a food pantry board member. The plan is to begin welcoming veterans next spring.
“It’s a bit daunting, because there’s so much work,” Wolf said. “But the opportunity is there. In the long run, there is so much potential and it could do so much good.”
Wolf, who owns The Bookshelf in downtown Kalispell with her husband, Kyle Fort, is working on her master’s degree in social work and is making Camp Ponderosa the focal point of her practicum. She is exploring potential alternative therapies to be used at the retreat, including equine and horticultural therapies, as well as vocational rehab, which would be achieved through the job-training component.
Skills that may be offered at the retreat include construction, electrician, woodworking, mechanic and plumbing, guided by instructors from those fields. The veterans will be able to stay onsite through the duration of their learning and therapy.
“We want to help veterans, and we’re going to fill a niche,” Erickson said.
Wolf hopes it will bridge the reintegration gap of veterans returning from deployment.
“Reintegrating is a huge learning curve, let alone for someone with the symptoms of PTSD,” she said. “We want to provide them an opportunity to learn skills in a safe place.”
The retreat is the most recent example of the organization’s evolution and growth over the last two decades. The Ericksons’ original endeavor, the stand down, has attracted up to 2,500 veterans to its annual two-day event in Libby, which provides a wide array of free services and resources to veterans, including haircuts, clothing, food, supplies, medical evaluations and connections to providers.
The food pantry was able to move into an expanded Evergreen location on U.S. Highway 2 eight years ago thanks to an anonymous donor. In addition to free food for veterans, it has a thrift and antique store open to the public, with discounts for veterans, as well as an area with medical equipment available to be borrowed or purchased.
“The best reward in the world,” Erickson, a U.S. Navy veteran who was once homeless, said, “is when a big old vet gives you a big hug and says, ‘Thanks, I couldn’t have done it without you.’”
An informational meeting about Camp Ponderosa will be held on Dec. 7 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Swan Valley Community Hall at 115 Swan River Rd. The event is free for veterans and their families, as well as anyone wanting to know more about Camp Ponderosa.
The organization is seeking volunteers, donors and anybody who wants to contribute to the Camp Ponderosa project in any way. To find out how to help and learn more about the organization, call (406) 756-7304 or visit www.veteransfoodpantry.org.
Fundraiser for Veterans Food Pantry
For the second straight year, The Bookshelf in downtown Kalispell is holding an event to celebrate Veterans Day and raise funds for the Northwest Montana Veterans Stand Down and Food Pantry. This year, owners Kyle Fort and Mary Wolf will be showcasing local World War II veteran Robert E. Anderson’s book, “Slow But Deadly: WWI Memoirs of an SBD Dive Bomber Pilot.”
The hope is that the 98-year-old Anderson will be able to attend and sign books, but in any case proceeds from the sale of his book that day, as well as from other promoted books written by local veterans, will go to the food pantry.
When: Nov. 8, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: The Bookshelf, 101 S. Main St., Kalispell
What: Book signing and showcase of local veteran authors, fundraiser for food pantry (attendees can support the pantry by purchasing a book or bringing in nonperishable food items or giving financial donations)
Info: (406) 756-2665
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