Submitted Photo Capts. John, right, and Faith Woodard, left.

Minot’s homeless problem rises and falls, often with the season, but the community’s situation along major rail lines lends itself to transient traffic, mostly during the summer. With no place to go, transients become engrossed in a cycle of hardship.

John and Faith Woodard, captains of the Minot Salvation Army, seek the community’s help to break this cycle holistically.

In larger cities it’s getting harder for people to find work, they said. The alternative is to move to a more rural community like Minot.

“Ward County is starting to see more and more migrants coming from places like Arizona, California and southern states,” John Woodard said.

They are looking to areas like this because it’s open to people coming through.

“They see jobs here. They are mostly minimum wage jobs, but they are here, so they come and find it’s not as pleasant as they thought it would be as far as resources to help,” John Woodard said.

Since summer has started, the Salvation Army has seen an increase in people coming through Minot in need of rental and utility help, along with prescriptions and gas vouchers. People are in this situation because of unfortunate circumstances that have brought them to this point, the Woodards said. Sometimes it can become a cycle that starts to normalize and becomes everyday life.

“Our approach is holistic. We want to help the person get the life essentials they need, then get back on their own feet and not have to use The Salvation Army’s resources. It gives them an amount of self-respect,” John Woodard said.

The Salvation Army hopes to break the cycle of poverty by giving people job opportunities. In turn they set goals for themselves. It is about community building and people becoming better, the Woodards said.

“They tend to be low-income families, but don’t have to be. It could just be someone going through a crisis in life and needing guidance. It gives them an opportunity to look inward and say, ‘What can I do to make myself and my family better?'” John Woodard said.

There have been multiple success stories involving families, but one in particular stands out for the Woodards. A blended family with 11 children came through Minot and as John Woodard said, “Their lives were not together spiritually or financially. But now both parents are employed, very comfortable, and able to give back to their community”.

“Our resources are put forward so people can have room to breathe,” he added.

Although there has been a large increase in people who need the Salvation Army’s resources, donations have declined since the pandemic. Woodard also said volunteers are needed now more than ever.

“There are limited resources right now. We have grants we have applied for, but we also need to make sure we have volunteers to help going forward. You can get grants, but grants don’t help with staffing,” Woodard said.

“We are thrilled about the community but want them to understand that we’re here to help them as well,” he added.

Red kettles return July 1

The Salvation Army will be conducting a “Heart to God, Hand to Man” initiative this summer to aid in providing the donations needed to meet the demand for services. Beginning July 1, the red kettles commonly seen at Christmas time will be placed in front of Cashwise and Marketplace every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday throughout July to collect donations. To sign up to volunteer, call the Salvation Army office at 838-8925.